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University  of  California  •  Berkeley 

Gift  of 
Wells  Morris 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 

in  2007  with  funding  from 

Microsoft  Corporation 


http://www.archive.org/details/elevenyearsinrocOOvictrich 


ELEVEN     YEARS 


rsr  the 


ROOKY   MOUNTAIN'S 


AND 


LIFE  ON  THE  FRONTIER. 

By    FRANCES    F.    VICTOR. 
ALSO 

A  History  of  the  Sioux  War, 

AND  A  LIFE  OF 

GEN.    GEORGE    A.   CUSTER 

WITH   FULL  ACCOUNT  OF   HIS   LAST  BATTLE. 


ILLUSTRATED   BY  ENGRAVINGS  AND   MAPS. 


PUBLISHED    BY   SUBSCEIPTI01T   MTL7. 


COLUMBIAN  BOOK  COMPANY, 

HAETFOED,    CONN. 

1877. 


J\ 


copyright  bt 

Columbian  Book  Company. 

1877. 


PAET    I. 
MOUNTAIN  ADVENTUEES 

ARD 

FRONTIER  LIFE. 


INTBODUCTION". 


When  the  author  of  this  book  has  been  absorbed  in  the 
elegant  narratives  of  "Washington  Irving,  reading  and 
musing  over  Astoria  and  Bonneville,  in  the  cozy  quiet  of 
a  New  York  study,  no  prescient  motion  of  the  mind  ever 
gave  prophetic  indication  of  that  personal  acquaintance 
which  has  since  been  formed  with  the  scenes,  and  even 
with  some  of  the  characters  which  figure  in  the  works  just 
referred  to.  Yet  so  have  events  shaped  themselves  that 
to  me  Astoria  is  familiar  ground ;  Forts  Vancouver  and 
Walla- Walla  pictured  forever  in  my  memory ;  while  such 
journeys  as  I  have  been  enabled  to  make  into  the  country 
east  of  the  last  named  fort,  have  given  me  a  fair  insight 
into  the  characteristic  features  of  its  mountains  and  its 
plains. 

To-day,  a  railroad  traverses  the  level  stretch  between 
the  Missouri  River  and  the  Rocky  Mountains,  along  which, 
thirty  years  ago,  the  fur-traders  had  worn  a  trail  by  their 
annual  excursions  with  men,  pack-horses,  and  sometimes 
wagons,  destined  to  the  Rocky  Mountains.  Then,  they 
had  to  guard  against  the  attacks  of  the  Savages ;  and  in 
this  respect  civilization  is  behind  the  railroad,  for  now,  as 
then,  it  is  not  safe  to  travel  without  a  sufficient  escort. 
To-day,  also,  we  have  new  Territories  called  by  several 
names  cut  out  of  the  identical  hunting-grounds  of  the  fur- 
traders  of  thirty  years  ago ;  and  steamboats  plying  the 
rivers  where  the  mountain-men  came  to  set  their  traps  for 
beaver;  or  cities  growing  up  like  mushrooms  from  a  soil 


INTRODUCTION.  IX 

made  quick  by  gold,  where  the  hardy  mountain-hunter 
pursued  the  buffalo  herds  in  search  of  his  winter's  supply 
of  food. 

The  wonderful  romance  which  once  gave  enchantment 
to  stories  of  hardship  and  of  daring  deeds,  suffered  and 
done  in  these  then  distant  wilds,  is  fast  being  dissipated 
by  the  rapid  settlement  of  the  new  Territories,  and  by  the 
familiarity  of  the  public  mind  with  tales  of  stirring  adven- 
ture encountered  in  the  search  for  glittering  ores.  It  was, 
then,  not  without  an  emotion  of  pleased  surprise  that  I 
first  encountered  in  the  fertile  plains  of  Western  Oregon 
the  subject  of  this  biography,  a  man  fifty-eight  years  of 
age,  of  fine  appearance  and  buoyant  temper,  full  of  anec- 
dote, and  with  a  memory  well  stored  with  personal  recol- 
lections of  all  the  men  of  note  who  have  formerly  visited 
the  old  Oregon  Territory,  when  it  comprised  the  whole 
country  west  of  the  Rocky  Mountains  lying  north  of  Cali- 
fornia and  south  of  the  forty-ninth  parallel.  This  man  is 
Joseph  L.  Meek,  to  whose  stories  of  mountain-life  I  have 
listened  for  days  together;  and  who,  after  having  figured 
conspicuously,  and  not  without  considerable  fame,  in  the 
early  history  of  Oregon,  still  prides  himself  most  of  all  on 
having  been  a  "mountain-man." 

It  has  frequently  been  suggested  to  Mr.  Meek,  who  has 
now  come  to  be  known  by  the  familiar  title  of  u  Uncle 
Joe"  to  all  Oregon,  that  a  history  of  his  varied  adventures 
would  make  a  readable  book,  and  some  of  his  neighbors 
have  even  undertaken  to  become  his  historian,  yet  with  so 
little  well-directed  efforts  that  the  task  after  all  has  fallen 
to  a  comparative  stranger.  I  confess  to  having  taken  hold 
of  it  with  some  doubts  as  to  my  claims  to  the  office ;  and 
the  best  recommendation  I  can  give  my  work  is  the  inter- 
est I  myself  felt  in  the  subject  of  it;  and  the  only  apology 
1  can  offer  for  anything  incredible  in  the  narrative  which 


X  INTRODUCTION. 

it  may  contain,  is  that  I  "  tell  the  tale  as  "'twas  told  to  me,'7 
and  that  I  have  no  occasion  to  doubt  the  truth  of  it 

Seeing  that  the  incidents  I  had  to  record  embraced  a 
period  of  a  score  and  a  half  of  years,  and  that  they  ex- 
tended over  those  years  most  interesting  in  Oregon  his- 
tory, as  well  as  of  the  history  of  the  Fur  Trade  in  the 
West,  I  have  concluded  to  preface  Mr.  Meek's  adventures 
with  a  sketch  of  the  latter,  believing  that  the  information 
thus  conveyed  to  the  reader  will  give  an  additional  degree 
of  interest  to  their  narration.  The  impression  made  upon 
my  own  mind  as  I  gained  a  knowledge  of  the  facts  which 
I  shall  record  in  this  book  relating  to  the  early  occupation 
of  Oregon,  was  that  they  were  not  only  profoundly  roman- 
tic, but  decidedly  unique. 

Mr.  Meek  was  born  in  Washington  Co.,  Virginia,  in 
1810,  one  year  before  the  settlement  of  Astoria,  and  at  a 
period  when  Congress  was  much  interested  in  the  question 
of  our  Western  possessions  and  their  boundary.  "Mani- 
fest destiny  "  seemed  to  have  raised  him  up,  together  with 
many  others,  bold,  hardy,  and  fearless  men,  to  become 
sentinels  on  the  outposts  of  civilization,  securing  to  the 
United  States  with  comparative  ease  a  vast  extent  of  ter- 
ritory, for  which,  without  them,  a  long  struggle  with  Eng- 
land would  have  taken  place,  delaying  the  settlement  of 
the  Pacific  Coast  for  many  years,  if  not  losing  it  to  us  alto- 
gether. It  is  not  without  a  feeling  of  genuine  self-congrat- 
ulation, that  I  am  able  to  bear  testimony  to  the  services, 
hitherto  hardly  recognized,  of  the  "  mountain-men  "  who 
have  settled  in  Oregon.  Whenever  there  shall  arise  a 
studious  and  faithful  historian,  their  names  shall  not  be 
excluded  from  honorable  mention,  nor  least  illustrious  will 
appear  that  of  Joseph  L.  Meek,  the  Rocky  Mountain  Hunt- 
er and  Trapper. 


CONTENTS. 


PREFATORY    CHAPTER. 

Page. 
Astoria — Fort  Vancouver — Its  isolated  Position — Precautions  against  In- 
dians— The  Hudson's  Bay  Company — Its  Policy  and  Intercourse  with 
the  Indians — The  Arrival  of  the  "Brigade" — Other  Yearly  Arrivals — 
Punishment  of  Indian  Offenders  —  Indian  Strategy — A  Hero — The 
American  Fur  Companies — Their  Dealings  with  the  Indians — Ashley's 
Expeditions  to  Green  River — Attack  on  Smith's  Party — Wyeth's  Ex- 
peditions— Fort  Hall — Decline  of  the  Fur  Trade — Causes  of  the  Indians' 
Hostility — Dangers  attending  the  Trapper's  Life,  -  -  -    23 

CHAPTER    I. 

Early  Life  of  Meek — He  leaves  Home — Enlists  in  a  Fur  Company — On 
the- March — A  Warning  Voice — Frontier  Sports — Last  Vestige  of  Civil- 
ization— On  the  Plains — A  first  Adventure — A  firm  Front — A  Parley — 
The  Summer  Rendezvous — An  enchanting  Picture — The  Free  Trap- 
per's Indian  Wife — Wild  Carousals — Routine  of  Camp  Life — Smoked 
Moccasins  versus  Green  Ones — A  "  Trifling  Fellow,"   -  -     41 

CHAPTER    II. 

The  Camp  in  Motion — A  Trapping  Expedition — Opposition  to  the  Hud- 
son's Bay  Company — Beautiful  Scenery — The  Lost  Leader  Found — 
Rejoicings  in  Camp — The  "Luck"  of  the  Trappers — Conference  of 
Leaders — The  "Devil's  Own" — Blackfoot  Character — Account  of  the 
Tribes,     ---.--.--57 

CHAPTER    III. 

How  Beaver  are  Taken — Beaver  Dams — Formation  of  Meadows — Beaver 
Lodges — "  Bachelors  " — Trapping  in  Winter — "  Up  to  Trap  " — Black- 
feet  on  the  Trail — On  Guard — The  Trapper's  Ruse — A  disappointed 
Bear — A  Fight  with  Blackfeet — "  Out  of  Luck  — Alone  in  the  Moun- 
tains^— Splendid  Views — A  Miserable  Night — The  last  Luxury  of  Life — 
The  Awfulness  of  Solitude — A  Singular  Discovery — A  Hell  on  Earth — 
A  Joyful  Recognition — Hard  Times  in  Camp — The  Negro's  Porcupine — 
Craig's  Rabbit — Deep  Snows — What  the  Scout  saw — Bighorn  River — 
"  Colter's  Hell " — An  Alarm — Arrival  at  Wind  River — Christmas,        -     64 

CHAPTER    IV. 

Removal  to  Powder  River — A  Trapper's  Paradise — The  Transformation 
in  the  Wilderness — The  Encampment  by  Night — Meek  takes  to  Study — 


Xll  CONTENTS. 

Pass. 
On  the  Move — Loss  of  Horses  and  Traps — Robbed  and  Insulted  by  a 
Bear — Crossing  the  Yellowstone — A  Novel  Ferriage — Annoyance  from 
Blackfeet — A  Cache  Opened — A  Comrade  Killed — Rude  Burial  Serv- 
ice— Return  to  Rendezvous — Gay  Times — The  old  Partners  take  Leave,      82 

CHAPTER    V. 

Grizzly  Bears — An  Adventure  with  a  Grizzly — The  Three  "  Bares  " — 
The  Mountain-Man's  Manners  —  Joking  the  Leaders — The  Irishman 
and  the  Booshway — How  Sublette  climbed  a  Tree  and  escaped  a  Bear — 
Rival  Trappers — Whisky  as  a  Strong  Card — Ogden's  Indian  Wife — 
Her  Courage  and  Escape — Winter  Quarters — Crow  Horse-Thieves — 
An  Expedition  on  Foot — Night  Attack  on  the  Indian  Fort — Fitzpatrick 
Missing — Destitution  in  Camp — A  "  Medicine-Man  "  consulted — "  Mak- 
ing Medicine" — A  Vision  Obtained — Fitzpatrick  Found — Death  of 
Smith —  An  Expedition  on  Snow-Shoes,  -  -  -  -    90 

CHAPTER    VI 

Annoying  Competition — The  Chiefs  Daughter — Sublette  Wounded — 
Forty  Days  of  Isolation — Sublette  and  Meek  captured  by  Snake  In- 
dians— A  Solemn  Council — Sentence  of  Death — Hope  Deferred — A  Res- 
cue— The  "Mountain  Lamb" — An  Obstinate  Rival — Blackfeet  Ma- 
rauders— Fitzpatrick's  Adventures  in  the  Mountains — "  When  the  Pie 
was  opened  the  Birds  began  to  Sing  " — Rough  Sports — A  Man  on  Fire — 
Brigades  ready  for  the  Start — Blackfeet  Caravan — Peaceful  Overtures — 
The  Half-Breed's  Revenge — A  Battle — Reinforcements — Death  of  Sin- 
clair— Sublette  Wounded — Greenhorns — A  false  Alarm — Indian  Adroit- 
ness— A  Deserted  Fort — Incident  of  the  Blackfoot  Woman — Murder  of 
a  Party  by  Blackfeet,        -  -  -  --  -         -103 

CHAPTER    VII. 

The  March  to  the  Humboldt — Scarcity  of  Game — Terrible  Sufferings — 
The  Horrors  of  Thirst  and  Famine — Eating  Ants,  Crickets  and  Mules — 
Return  to  Snake  River — A  lucky  Discovery — A  Trout  Supper — The 
Country  of  the  Diggers — Some  Account  of  Them — Anecdote  of  Wyeth 
and  Meek — Comparison  of  Indian  Tribes — The  Blackfeet — The  Crows — 
The  Coast  Tribes  and  the  Mountain  Tribes — The  Columbia  River 
Indians — Their  Habits,  Customs,  and  Dress — Indian  Commerce — The 
Indians  of  the  Plains — Their  Dress,  Manners,  and  Wealth — The  Horses 
of  the  Plains — Language — The  Indian's  Moral  Nature — Hungry  and 
Hospitable  Savages — A  Trap  set  for  a  Rival — An  Ambush — Death  of 
Vanderburg — Skirmish  with  Blackfeet — The  Woman  Interpreter  taken 
Prisoner — Bravery  of  her  Husband — Happy  Finale — Meek  Rescues  the 
"  Mountain  Lamb  " — Intense  Cold — Threatened  by  Famine — The  Den 
ofGrizzlys — Second  Daniels,         -  -  -  -  -        -  119 


CONTENTS.  xiii 


CHAPTER    VIII. 

Pa«. 
A  Visit  from  Blackfeet — The  Green  River  Rendezvous — A  "  Powerful 
Drunk"— Mad  Wolf— A  Friendly  Warning— A  Trip  to  the  Salt  Lake 
Country — Meek  Joins  Jo.  Walker's  California  Expedition — Instinct  of 
the  Mule — On  the  Humboldt  River — Massacre  of  Diggers  at  Mary's 
River — Vain  Explorations — Crossing  the  Sierra  Nevadas — Hardships 
and  Sufferings — The  Sacramento  Valley — Delight  of  the  Trappers — 
Meeting  with  Spanish  Soldiers — A  Parley — Escorted  to  Monterey — A 
Hospitable  Reception — The  Native  Californians — Visit  to  the  Mohave 
Village — Meeting  with  Trapp  and  Jervais — Infamous  Conduct  at  the 
Moquis  Village — The  Return  March,         -  -  -  141 

CHAPTER    IX. 

In  the  Camanche  Country — A  Surprise  and  a  Rapid  Movement — The 
Mule  Fort — A  Camanche  Charge — Sure  Aim — Another  Charge — More 
Dead  Indians — Woman's  Weapon,  the  Tongue — Fearful  Heat  and  Suf- 
ferings from  Thirst — The  Escape  by  Night — The  South  Park — Death 
of  Guthrie — Meeting  with  Bonneville — Indignant  Reproaches,  -  -  154 

CHAPTER    X. 

Gossip  at  Rendezvous — Adventures  in  the  Crow  Country — Fitzpatrick 
Picked  by  the  Crows  and  Flies  from  Them — Honor  among  Thieves — 
Unfair  Treatment  of  Wyeth — Bonneville  Snubbed  at  Walla- Walla — 
He  Rejects  good  Counsel — Wyeth's  Threat,  and  its  Fulfillment — Divis- 
ion of  Territory,  --------  160 

CHAPTER    XI. 

In  the  Blackfoot  Country — A  Visit  to  Wyeth's  Trappers — Sorry  Expe- 
riences^— Condolence  and  its  Effect — The  Visitors  become  Defenders — 
A  Battle  with  Fire  and  Sword — Fighting  for  Life — The  Trappers*  Vic- 
tory— A  Trapping  Excursion — Meek  Plays  a  Trick  and  has  one  Played 
on  Him — A  Run  to  Camp — Taking  up  Traps — A  Blackfoot  Ambush — 
A  Running  Fire — A  lucky  Escape — Winter  Camp  on  the  Yellowstone — 
Interpretation  of  a  Dream — A  Buffalo  Hunt  and  a  Blackfoot  Surprise — 
Meek's  Mule  Story,  -  -  -  -  -  --166 

CHAPTER    XII. 

Setting  up  as  a  Family  Man — First  Love — Cut  out  by  the  Booshway — 
Reward  of  Constancy — Beauty  of  Umentucken — Her  Dress,  Her  Horse 
and  Equipments — Anecdotes  of  the  Mountain  Lamb — Her  Quarrel  with 
The  Trapper — Capture  by  Crows — Her  Rescue — Meek  Avenges  an  In- 
sult— A  Row  in  Camp — The  Female  Element — Death  of  Umentucken,  175 
2 


XIV  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER    XIII. 

Pagk. 
Visitors  at  Rendezvous — Advent  of  Missionaries — What  Brought  Them — 
Bonneville's  account  of  the  Nez  Perces  and  Flatheads — An  Enthusiastic 
View  of  Their  Characters — Origin  of  some  of  Their  Religious  Observ- 
ances— An  Indian's  Idea  of  a  God — Material  Good  Desired — Mistake 
of  the  Missionaries — First  Sermon  in  the  Rocky  Mountains — Interrupted 
by  Buffaloes — Precept  and  Example — Dr.  Whitman's  Character — The 
Missionaries  Separate — Dr.  Whitman  Returns  to  the  States,    -  -  181 

CHAPTER  XIV. 
[Meek  Falls  into  the  Hands  of  Crows — The  Story  as  He  tells  It — He  Packs 
Moccasins,  and  Bears  the  Jeers  of  the  Fair  Sex — Bridger's  Camp  Dis- 
covered and  the  Lie  Found  out — A  Desperate  Situation — Signaling  the 
Horse-Guard — A  Parley  with  Bridger — Successful  Strategy — Capture 
of  Little-Gun — Meek  Set  at  Liberty  witb  a  New  Name — A  Fort  Be- 
sieged by  Bears — A  Lazy  Trapper — The  Decoy  of  the  Delawares — 
Winter  Amusements  —  The  Ishmaelite  of  the  Wilderness  —  March 
through  the  Crow  Country — Return  to  Green  River — Punishment  of  the 
Bannacks — Consolidation — An  Excursion — Intercepted  by  Crows — A 
Scattered  Camp — The  Escape,  _____  \$q 

CHAPTER    XV. 

An  Express  from  Fitzpatrick — The  Approach  of  Missionaries  Announc- 
ed— The  Caravan  Welcomed  by  a  Party  of  Trappers — Noisy  Demonstra- 
tions— Curiosity  of  the  Indians — The  Missionary  Ladies — Preparations 
in  the  Indian  Villages — Reception  of  the  Missionaries  by  the  Nez  Perces 
and  Flatheads — Kind  Treatment  from  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company — 
The  Missionaries'  Land  of  Promise — Visit  to  Fort  Vancouver — Selection 
of  Missionary  Stations,        _---___  201 

CHAPTER    XVI. 

The  Den  of  Rattlesnakes — The  Old  Frenchman — How  to  Keep  Snakes 
out  of  Bed— The  Prairie  Dog's  Tenants  at  Will— Fight  with  Blackfeet— 
Policy  of  War — A  Duel  Averted — A  Run-away  Bear — Meek's  Best  Bear 
Fight — Winter  Quarters  on  Powder  River — Robbing  Bonneville's  Men,  214 

CHAPTER    XVII. 

A  Dissipated  Camp — A  Crow  Carousal — Picked  Crows — A  Fight  with 
Blackfeet — Manhead  Killed — Night  Visit  to  the  Blackfoot  Village — 
"  Cooning  a  River  " — Stanley  the  Indian  Painter — Desperate  Fight 
with  Blackfeet — "  The  Trapper's  Last  Shot " — War  and  Peace — In  the 
Wrong  Camp — To  Rendezvous  on  Wind  River — Mr.  Gray,  and  His 
Adventures  —  Massacre  of  Indian  Allies  —  Capt.  Stuart  Robbed  by 
,  Crows — Newell's  Address  to  the  Chiefs,  -  225 


CONTENTS.  XV 

CHAPTER    XVIII. 

PMjft 

.Decline  of  the  Fur  Trade — Wild  Scenes  at  Rendezvous — A  Missionary 
Party — Entertained  by  a  War  Dance — Meek  in  Armor — Deserted  by 
his  Indian  Spouse — The  Pursuit — Meek  abuses  a  Missionary  and  Kid- 
naps his  Wife — Meek's  Black  Eyed  Daughter — Singing  for  a  Biscuit — 
Trapping  Again — A  hot  March,  and  Fearful  Suffering  from  Thirst — 
The  Old  Flathead  Woman— Water  at  Last,       -  -  -  -237 

CHAPTER    XIX. 

A  Chat  about  Buffalo  Hunting— Buffalo  Horses— The  Start— The  Pur- 
suit— The  Charge — Tumbles —  Horsemanship — The  Glory  of  Mountain 
Life — How  a  Nez  Perce  Village  Hunts  Buffalo — Kit  Carson  and  the 
Frenchman  on  a  Run — Mountain  Manners,        -  246 

CHAPTER    XX. 

The  Solitary  Trapper — A  Jest — Among  the  Nez  Perces — Their  Eagerness 
to  be  Taught — Meek  is  Called  upon  to  Preach — He  modestly  Complies — 
Asks  for  a  Wife  —  Polygamy  Defended  —  Meek  Gets  a  Wife — The 
Preacher's  Salary — Surprised  by  Blackfeet — Death  of  Allen — The  Last 
Rendezvous — Anecdote  of  Shawnee  Jim — The  new  Wife  Missing — 
Meeting  with  Farnham — Cold  and  Famine — Succor  and  Food — Parties 
at  Fort  Crockett — Setting  up  in  Trade— How  Al.  Saved  His  Bacon — 
Bad  Times — War  upon  Horse  Thieves — In  Search  of  Adventures — 
Green  River  Canyon — Running  Antelope — Gambling — Vain  Hunt  for 
Rendezvous— Reflections  and  Half-Resolves — The  last  Trapping  Expe- 
dition, ------.._  251 

CHAPTER    XXI. 

A  new  Start  in  Life — Mountain-Men  for  Pioneers— Discovery  of  the  Co- 
lumbia River— What  Capt.  Gray  Did— What  Vancouver  Did— The 
United  States'  Claim  to  Oregon — -First  Missionaries  to  the  Wallamet — 
John  McLaughlin— Hospitalities  of  Fort  Vancouver— The  Mission  Re- 
inforced—Other Settlers  in  the  Wallamet  Valley— How  they  Regarded 
the  Mission— The  California  Cattle  Company— Distribution  of  Settlers,  264 

CHAPTER    XXII. 

Westward  Ho !— Opening  Wagon  Roads— Republicanism — Fat  Pork  for 
Preachers— Mission  Work  at  Waiilatpu— Helen  Mar — Off  for  the  Wal- 
lamet—Wagons  Left  at  Walla-Walla— The  Dalles  Mission  —Indian 
Prayers— The  Missionaries  and  the  Mountain-Men— The  Impious  Cana- 
dian—Doing Penance-  J  town  the  Columbia— Trouble  with  Indians- 
Arrival  at  the  Wallamet — Hunger,  and  Dependence  on  Fort  Vancouver 

Meeting  Old  Comrades — Settling  on  the  Tualatin  Plains — A  disagreeable 
Winter— Taking  Claims— Who  furnished  the  Seed  Wheat,       -  .  271 


XVI  CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER    XXIII. 

Page. 
Scarcity  of  Employment — Wilkes'  Exploring  Expedition — Meek  Employed 
as  Pilot — Interchange  of  Courtesies  at  Vancouver — "  The  Peacock  " — 
Unpleasant  Reminder — Exploring  the  Cowelitz — Wilkes'  Chronometer — 
Land  Expedition  to  California — Meek  Discharged — Gleaning  Wheat — 
Fifty  Miles  for  an  Axe — Visit  to  the  New  Mission — Praying  for  a  Cow — 
Marriage  Ceremony,  .......  280 

CHAPTER    XXIV. 

The  Brooding  of  Events — Arrival  of  the  Chenamus — Meek  Celebrates  the 
Fourth  of  July — Dr.  Whitman  Goes  to  Washington — An  Alarming 
Feature — Mission  Stations  of  the  Upper  Country — Discontent  of  the 
Indians — The  Missionaries  Insulted  and  Threatened — Mrs.  Whitman 
Frightened  Away  from  Waiilatpu,  .....  285 

CHAPTER    XXV. 
The  Plot  Thickens — The  Wolf  Association — Suspicions  of  the  Canadians — 
"Who's  for  a  Divide?"— The  Die  Cast— A  Shout  for  Freedom— Meek 
Appointed  Sheriff— The  Provisional  Government,  ...  291 

CHAPTER    XXVI. 

Arrival  of  the  Immigration  at  the  Dalles — Wagons  Abandoned — Pitiable 
Condition  of  the  Women  and  Children — Aid  from  the  Hudson's  Bay 
Company — Perils  of  the  Columbia — Wreck  of  the  Boat — Wonderful 
Escape — Trials  of  the  New  Colonists — The  Generous  Savage — The  Bare- 
foot Lawyer — Meek's  Pumpkin — Privation  of  the  Settlers — Shopping 
under  Difficulties — Attempt  to  Manufacture  Ardent  Spirits — Dilemma 
of  the  People — An  Appeal — The  Sheriff  Destroys  the  Distillery — Anec- 
dote of  Dr.  White  and  Madam  Cooper — Meek  Levies  on  Her  Whisky — 
First  Official  Act  of  the  Sheriff, -294 

CHAPTER    XXVII. 

Excitement  about  Indians — Dr.  White's  Flogging  Law — Indian  Revenge — 
Raid  of  the  Klamaths — Massacre  of  Indians — Affray  at  the  Falls — 
Death  of  Cockstock — Death  of  LeBreton  and  Rogers — "  You'd  Better 
Run" — Meek's  Policy  with  the  Indians — Meek  and  the  Agent — The 
Borrowed  Horse — Solemn  Audacity — Wonderful  Transformation — Tem- 
perance —  Courts  — Anecdote  of  Judge  Nesmith  —  Early  Days  of  Port- 
land— An  Indian  Carousal — Meek  "  Settles  the  Indians  " — The  Immigra- 
tion of  1845  —  The  Cascade  Mountain  Road-Hunters  —  Hunger  and 
Peril — A  Last  Request — Succor  at  the  Last  Moment — A  Reason  for 
Patriotism,      -  ♦  •  -  -  •  -  -  -  306 


CONTENTS.  xvil 


CHAPTER    XXVIII. 

Difficulty  of  Collecting  Taxes — A  Ponderous  Currency — Dr.  McLaughlin's 
Ox — An  Exciting  Year — The  Boundary  Question — "  Fifty-four-forty  or 
Fight" — War  Vessels  in  the  Columbia — Loss  of  the  Shark — Meek  Re- 
ceives a  Salute — Schenck  Arrested — The  Color-Stand  of  the  Shark — 
"  Sunset  at  the  Mouth  of  the  Columbia,"    ...  -  -  -  320 

CHAPTER    XXIX. 

"The  Adventures  of  a  Columbia  River  Salmon  " — History  of  the  Immigra- 
tion of  1846 — Opening  of  Southern  Route  to  the  Wallamet — Tragic 
Fate  of  the  California  Immigrants — Sufferings  of  the  Oregon  Immi- 
grants— Tardy  Relief — Celebrating  the  Fourth  of  July — Visit  to  the 
Ship  Brutus — An  Insult  to  the  Mountain-Men — The  Indignity  Resented 
with  a  Twelve-Pounder  —  Dr.  McLaughlin  Interferes  —  Re-election  of 
Meek — Large  Immigration  —  Failure  of  the  Territorial  Bill — Affray 
between  Immigrants  and  Indians  at  the  Dalles — Meeting  of  the  Legis- 
lature—Falling of  the  Thunderbolt,  -  -  -  -  -  325 

CHAPTER    XXX. 

Trouble  with  the  Up-Country  Indians — Causes  of  their  Disquiet — Their 
Opinion  of  the  Americans — "Humbugged  and  Cheated" — Fear  of 
Greater  Frauds  in  the  Future — ReBolve  not  to  Submit — Their  Feelings 
Toward  Dr.  Whitman — Acts  of  Violence — Influence  of  the  Catholic 
Missionaries — A  Season  of  Severe  Sickness — What  Provoked  the  Massa- 
cre— Joe  Lewis  the  Half-Breed — The  Fatal  Test — Sickness  Among  the 
Immigrants — Dr.  Whitman's  Family — Persons  at  the  Mission  and  Mill — 
Helen  Mar — Arrival  of  Mr.  Whitman  and  his  Daughter — A  Night  Visit 
to  the  Umatilla — In  the  Lodge  of  Stickas,  the  Walla- Walla  Chief — 
The  Warning  of  Stickas  and  His  Family — The  Death  Song — "  Beware 
of  the  Cayuses  at  the  Mission!" — Mr.  Spaulding  meets  Brouillet,  the 
Catholic  Bishop — News  of  the  Massacre — Escape  to  the  Woods — Night 
Journeys  to  Lapwai,   ----.---  334 

CHAPTER  XXXI. 
The  Tragedy  at  Waiilatpu — Dr.  Whitman's  Arrival  at  Home — Monday 
Morning  at  the  Mission — Commencement  of  the  Massacre — The  First 
Victim — "  Oh,  the  Indians  !  " — Horrors  of  the  Attack — Shooting  of  Mrs. 
Whitman — Treachery  of  Jo  Lewis — Sufferings  of  the  Children — Indian 
Orgies — The  Victims  Tortured— The  Two  Compassionate  Indians — A 
Night  of  Horror — Remarkable  Escape  of  Mr.  Osborne  and  Family — 
Escape  and  Fate  of  Mr.  Hall— Cruel  Treatment  of  Fugitives— Kindness 
of  Mr.  Stanley — Inhospitable  Reception  at  Fort  Walla  -Walla — Touch-, 
ing  Kindness  of  Stickas,        .......  344 


XV111  CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER    XXXII. 

Pasb. 
Horrors  of  the  Waiilatpu  Massacre — Exemption  of  the  Catholics — Charges 
of  the  Protestants — Natural  Suspicions — Further  Particulars  of  the  Mas- 
sacre— Cruelty  to  the  Children — Fate  of  the  Young  Women — Miss 
Bulee  and  the  Priests — Lapwai  Mission — Arrival  of  Mr.  Camfield — An 
Indian  Trait — Heroism  of  Mrs.  Spalding — Appeal  to  the  Chiefs — Arrival 
of  the  News — Lapwai  Plundered — Treachery  of  Joseph — Arrival  of  Mr. 
Spalding — Detained  as  Hostages — Ransomed  by  the  H.  B.  Company — 
The  "  Blood  of  the  Martyrs  " — Country  Abandoned  to  the  Indians — 
Subsequent  Return  of  Mr.  Spalding  to  the  Nez  Perces,  -  353 

CHAPTER    XXXI  II. 

The  Call  to  Arms — Meetings  and  Speeches — Ways  and  Means  of  De- 
fence— The  first  Regiment  of  Oregon  Riflemen — Messenger  to  the  Gov- 
ernor of  California — Meek  Chosen  Messenger  to  the  President  of  the 
United  States — He  Proceeds  to  the  Dalles — The  Army  Marches  to 
Waiilatpu — A  Skirmish  with  the  Des  Chutes — Burial  of  the  Victims — 
Meek  Escorted  to  the  Blue  Mountains,  -----  363 

CHAPTER    XXXIV. 

Meek's  Party — Precautions  against  Indians — Meeting  with  Bannacks — 
White  Lies — Fort  Hall — Deep  Snows — Horses  Abandoned — The  Moun- 
tain Spirit  Returning — Meeting  with  Peg-Leg  Smith — A  Mountain 
Revel — Meeting  with  An  Old  Leader — Reception  at  Fort  Laramie — 
Passing  the  Sioux  Village — Courtesy  of  a  French  Trader — Reflections 
on  Nearing  the  Settlements — Resolve  to  Remain  Joe  Meek — Reception 
at  St.  Joseph — "  The  Quickest  Trip  Yet " — Arrival  at  St.  Louis — Meek 
as  Steamboat  Runner — Interview  with  the  Stage  Agent  at  Wheeling — 
Astonishing  the  Natives — The  Puzzled  Conductor — Arrival  at  Wash- 
ington,    ---------  868 

CHAPTER    XXXV. 

Meek  Dines  at  Coleman's — A  Sensation — An  Amusing  Scene — Recog- 
nized by  Senator  Underwood — Visit  to  the  President — Cordial  Recep- 
tion by  the  Family  of  Polk — Some  Doubts  of  Himself — Rapid  Recovery 
of  Self-Possession — Action  of  the  Friends  of  Oregon — The  Two  Oregon 
Representatives — The  Oregon  Bill  in  the  Senate — Mr.  Thornton — 
Meek's  Successful  Debut  in  Society — Curiosity  of  Ladies — Kit  Carson 
and  the  "  Contingent  Fund  " — Meek's  Remarkable  Popularity — Invited 
to  Baltimore  by  the  City  Council — Escorts  the  President — Visit  to 
Lowell — The  Factory  Girls — Some  Natural  Regrets — Kindness  of  Mrs. 
Polk  and  Mrs.  Walker — Commodore  Wilkes — Oregon  Lies — Getting 
Franked — Champagne  Suppers,  -----  381 


CONTENTS.  XIX 

CHAPTER    XXXVI. 

Meek  Appointed  U.  S.  Marshal  for  Oregon — "  Home  Sweet  Home  " — Pay  * 
of  the  Delegates  —  The  Lion's  Share  —  Meek's  Interview  with  Gov. 
Lane — Buying  out  a  Peddler — The  Escort  of  Riflemen — The  Start  from 
St.  Louis,  and  the  Route — Meeting  Price's  Army — An  Adventure  and 
a  Pleasant  Surprise — Leaving  the  Wagons — Desertion  of  Soldiers — 
Drought — The  Trick  of  the  Yumas — Demoralization  of  the  Train — 
Rumors  of  Gold — Gen.  Lane's  Coffee — The  Writer's  Reflection — The 
Party  on  Foot — Extreme  Sufferings — Arrival  at  William's  Ranch — 
Speculation  in  Silks  and  Jack-Knives — Miners  at  Los  Angelos — Ore- 
gonians  at  San  Francisco — Nat  Lane  and  Meek  Take  the  Gold  Fever — 
Meek's  Investment — The  Governor  and  Marshal  Quarrel — Pranks 
with  a  Jew — A  Salute — Arrival  in  Oregon  City,  -  -  -  394 

CHAPTER    XXXVII. 

Lane's  Course  with  the  Cayuse  Indians — Magnanimity  of  the  Savages — 
Rebuke  to  Their  Captors — Their  Statements  to  Meek — The  Puzzle  of 
Indian  Ethics  —  Incidents  of  the  Trial  and  Execution — State  of  the 
Upper  Country  for  A  Term  of  Years — How  Meek  Wus  Received  in  Ore- 
gon— His  Incurable  Waggishness — Scene  in  a  Court-Room — Contempt 
of  Court — Judge  Nelson  and  the  Carpenters — Two  Hundred  Lies — An 
Excursion  by  the  Oregon  Court — Indians  Tried  for  Murder — Proceed- 
ings of  a  Jury — Sentence  and  Execution  of  the  Indians — The  Chiefs 
Wife — Cost  of  Proceedings— Lane's  Career  in  Oregon — Gov.  Davis,         408 

CHAPTER    XXXVIII. 

Meek  as  U.  S.  Marshal — The  Captain  of  the  Melvin — The  British  Smug- 
gler— Returning  a  Compliment — "  Barly  Enough  for  the  Officers  of  the 
Court" — Misused  Confidence — Indian  Disturbances — The  Indian  War 
of  1855-6 — Gen  Wool  and  Gov.  Curry — Officers  of  the  War — How  the 
Volunteers  Fared — Meek  as  a  Volunteer — Feasting  and  Fun — "Mark- 
ing Time" — End  of  Meek's  Public  Career-  417 


ILLUSTRATIONS. 


English  Tourists'  Camp — Doubtful  Friends. — Frontispiece 

Winter  Couriers  of  the  North-west  Fur  Company, 

A  Station  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company,     - 

Watching  for  Indian  Horse-Thieves, 

Map  of  the  Fur  Country,        - 

The  Enlistment,     - 

The  Summer  Eendezvous,        - 

Beavers  at  Work,  ----- 

Hunters'  Winter  Camp,  -  -  -  - 

The  Three  "  Bares,"  - 

The  Wrong  End  of  the  Tree,  - 

Scouts  in  the  Blackfoot  Country — "Elk  or  Indians 

Branding  Cattle  in  Southern  California,  - 

A  Fight  with  Camanches — The  Mule  Fort, 

View  on  the  Columbia,  - 

The  Free  Trapper's  Indian  Wife, 

"  Indians,  by  Jove  !  "     -  -  -  -  - 

Descending  the  Blue  Mountains, 
The  Bear  in  Camp,         - 

Satisfied  with  Bear  Fighting,     - 

Cache,     ------- 

The  Trapper's  Last  Shot,  - 

The  Squaw's  Escape,     -  -  -  -  - 

Horse-Tail  Falls,  -  -  -  -  - 

A  Buffalo  Hunt,  - 

Castle  Bock,  Columbia  River,      -  -  - 

Wrecked  in  the  Rapids,  - 

A  Wild  Indian  in  Town,     - 

The  Cascade  Mountain  Road-Hunters, 

Mount  Hood  from  the  Dalles,     - 

Massacre  of  the  Whitman  Family,     -  -  - 

Meek  as  a  Steamboat  Runner,      -  -  - 

"  Take  Care  Knox,"       -  -  -  -  - 

A  Mountain  man  in  Clover,  - 

Gov.  Lane  and  Meek  on  the  Colorado  Desert, 

Meek  as  U.  S.  Marshal — Scene  in  a  Court-boom, 


Pagk. 

23 

30 

38 

40 

42 

48 

66 

81 

92 

94 

132 

150 

155 

165 

177 

200 

211 

219 

221 

227 

230 

231 

245 

246 

263 

294 

307 

317 

343 

344 

375 

385 

392 

401 

413 


PREFATORY   CHAPTER. 


An  Account  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company's  Intercourse  with  the 
Indians  of  the  North- West  Coast;  with  a  Sketch  of  the  Differ- 
ent American  Fur  Companies,  and  their  Dealings  with  the 
Tribes  of  the  Rocky  Mountains. 

In  the  year  1818,  Mr.  Prevost,  acting  for  the  United  States,  received  Astoria 
back  from  the  British,  who  had  taken  possession,  as  narrated  by  Mr.  Irving, 
four  years  previous.  The  restoration  took  place  in  conformity  with  the  treaty 
of  Ghent,  by  which  those  places  captured  during  the  war  were  restored  to  their 
original  possessors.  Mr.  Astor  stood  ready  at  that  time  to  renew  his  enterprise 
on  the  Columbia  River,  had  Congress  been  disposed  to  grant  him  the  necessary 
protection  which  the  undertaking  required.  Failing  to  secure  this,  when  the 
United  States  sloop  of  war  Ontario  sailed  away  from  Astoria,  after  having 
taken  formal  possession  of  that  place  for  our  Government,  the  country  was  left  to 
the  occupancy,  (scarcely  a  joint-occupancy,  since  there  were  then  no  Americans 
here,)  of  the  British  traders.  After  the  war,  and  while  negotiations  were 
going  on  between  Great  Britain  and  the  United  States,  the  fort  at  Astoria  had 
remained  in  possession  of  the  North-West  Company,  as  their  principal  establish- 
ment west  of  the  mountains.  It  had  been  considerably  enlarged  since  it  had 
come  into  their  possession,  and  was  furnished  with  artillery  enough  to  have 
frightened  into  friendship  a  much  more  warlike  people  than  the  subjects  of  old 
king  Comcomly ;  who,  it  will  be  remembered,  was  not  at  first  very  well  disposed 
towards  the  "King  George  men,"  having  learned  to  look  upon  the  "Boston 
men  "  as  his  friends  in  his  earliest  intercourse  with  the  whites.  At  this  time 
Astoria,  or  Fort  George,  as  the  British  traders  called  it,  contained  sixty-five 
inmates,  twenty-three  of  whom  were  whites,  and  the  remainder  Candian  half- 
breeds  and  Sandwich  Islanders.  Besides  this  number  of  men,  there  were  a  few 
women,  the  native  wives  of  the  men,  and  their  half-breed  offspring.  The  situ- 
ation of  Astoria,  however,  was  not  favorable,  being  near  the  sea  coast,  and  not 
surrounded  with  good  farming  lands  such  as  were  required  for  the  furnishing 
of  provisions  to  the  fort.  Therefore,  when  in  1821  it  was  destroyed  by  fire,  it 
was  only  in  part  rebuilt,  but  a  better  and  more  convenient  location  for  the  head- 
quarters of  the  North- West  Company  was  sought  for  in  the  interior. 

About  this  time  a  quarrel  of  long  standing  between  the  Hudson's  Bay  and 
North- West  Companies  culminated  in  a  battle  between  their  men  in  the  Red 


24  FORT   VANCOUVER. 

River  country,  resulting  in  a  considerable  loss  of  life  and  property.  This  affair 
drew  the  attention  of  the  Government  at  home ;  the  rights  of  the  rival  com- 
panies were  examined  into,  the  mediation  of  the  Ministry  secured,  and  a  com- 
promise effected,'  by  which  the  North- W est  Company,  which  had  succeeded  in 
dispossessing  the  Pacific  Fur  Company  under  Mr.  Astor,  was  merged  into  the 
Hudson's  Bay  Company,  whose  name  and  fame  are  so  familiar  to  all  the  early 
settlers  of  Oregon. 

At  the  same  time,  Parliament  passed  an  act  by  which  the  hands  of  the  con- 
solidated company  were  much  strengenthed,  and  the  peace  and  security  of  all 
persons  greatly  insured ;  but  which  became  subsequently,  in  the  joint  occupancy 
of  the  country,  a  cause  of  offence  to  the  American  citizens,  as  we  shall  see 
hereafter.  This  act  allowed  the  commissioning  of  Justices  of  the  Peace  in  all 
the  territories  not  belonging  to  the  United  States,  nor  already  subject  to  grants. 
These  justices  were  to  execute  and  enforce  the  laws  and  decisions  of  the  courts 
of  Upper  Canada ;  to  take  evidence,  and  commit  and  send  to  Canada  for  trial 
the  guilty ;  and  even  in  some  cases,  to  hold  courts  themselves  for  the  trial  of 
criminal  offences  and  misdemeanors  not  punishable  with  death,  or  of  civil  causes 
in  which  the  amount  at  issue  should  not  exceed  two  hundred  pounds. 

Thus  in  1824,  the  North- West  Company,  whose  perfidy  had  occasioned  such 
loss  and  mortification  to  the  enterprising  New  York  merchant,  became  itself  a 
thing  of  the  past,  and  a  new  rule  began  in  the  region  west  of  the  Rocky  Moun- 
tains. The  old  fort  at  Astoria  having  been  only  so  far  rebuilt  as  to  answer  the 
needs  of  the  hour,  after  due  consideration,  a  site  for  head-quarters  was  selected 
about  one  hundred  miles  from  the  sea,  near  the  mouth  of  the  Wallamet  River, 
though  opposite  to  it.  Three  considerations  went  to  make  up  the  eligibility  of 
the  point  selected.  First,  it  was  desirable,  even  necessary,  to  settle  upon  good 
agricultural  lands,  where  the  Company's  provisions  could  be  raised  by  the  Com- 
pany's servants.  Second,  it  was  important  that  the  spot  chosen  should  be  upon 
waters  navigable  for  the  Company's  vessels,  or  upon  tide-water.  Lastly,  and 
not  leastly,  the  Company  had  an  eye  to  the  boundary  question  between  Great 
Britain  and  the  United  States ;  and  believing  that  the  end  of  the  controversy 
would  probably  be  to  make  the  Columbia  River  the  northern  limit  of  the  United 
States  territory,  a  spot  on  the  northern  bank  of  that  river  was  considered  a 
good  point  for  their  fort,  and  possible  future  city. 

The  site  chosen  by  the  North- West  Company  in  1821,  for  their  new  fort, 
combined  all  these  advantages,  and  the  further  one  of  having  been  already 
commenced  and  named.  Fort  Vancouver  became  at  once  on  the  accession  of 
the  Hudson's  Bay  Company,  the  metropolis  of  the  northwest  coast,  the  center 
of  the  fur  trade,  and  the  seat  of  government  for  that  immense  territory,  over 
which  roamed  the  hunters  and  trappers  in  the  employ  of  that  powerful  corpo- 
ration. This  post  was  situated  on  the  edge  of  a  beautiful  sloping  plain  on  the 
northern  bank  of  the  Columbia,  about  six  miles  above  the  upper  mouth  of  the 
Wallamet.  At  this  point  the  Columbia  spreads  to  a  great  width,  and  is  divided 
on  the  south  side  into  bayous  by  long  sandy  islands,  covered  with  oak,  ash,  and 
cotton-wood  trees,  making  the  noble  river  more  attractive  still  by  adding  the 
charm  of  curiosity  concerning  its  actual  breadth  to  its  natural  and  ordinary 


DEFENCES    AND    IMPROVEMENTS.  25 

magnificence.  Back  of  the  fort  the  land  rose  gently,  covered  with  forests  of  fir  ; 
and  away  to  the  east  swelled  the  foot-hills  of  the  Cascade  range,  then  the  moun- 
tains themselves,  draped  ia  filmy  azure,  and  over-topped  five  thousand  feet  by 
the  snowy  cone*  of  Mt.  Hood. 

In  this  lonely  situation  grew  up,  with  the  dispatch  which  characterized  the 
acts  of  the  Company,  a  fort  in  most  respects  similar  to  the  original  one  at 
Astoria.  It  was  not,  however,  thought  necessary  to  make  so  great  a  display  of 
artillery  as  had  served  to  keep  in  order  the  subjects  of  Comcomly.  A  stockade 
enclosed  a  space  about  eight  hundred  feet  long  by  five  hundred  broad,  having 
a  bastion  at  one  corner,  where  were  mounted  three  guns,  while  two  eighteen, 
pounders  and  two  swivels  were  planted  in  front  of  the  residence  of  the  Gov- 
ernor and  chief  factors.  These  commanded  the  main  entrance  to  the  fort, 
besides  which  there  were  twq.  other  gates  in  front,  and  another  in  the  rear. 
Military  precision  was  observed  in  the  precautions  taken  against  surprises,  as 
well  as  in  all  the  rules  of  the  place.  The  gates  were  opened  and  closed  at 
certain  hours,  and  were  always  guarded.  No  large  number  of  Indians  were 
permitted  within  the  enclosure  at  the  same  time,  and  every  employee  at  the  fort 
knew  and  performed  his  duty  with  punctuality. 

The  buildings  within  the  stockade  were  the  Governor's  and  chief  factors* 
residences,  stores,  offices,  work-shops,  magazines,  warehouses,  &c. 

Year  by  year,  up  to  1835  or  '40,  improvements  continued  to  go  on  in  and 
about  the  fort,  the  chief  of  which  was  the  cultivation  of  the  large  farm  and 
garden  outside  the  enclosure,  and  the  erection  of  a  hospital  building,  large  barns, 
servants'  houses,  and  a  boat-house,  all  outside  of  the  fort ;  so  that  at  the  period 
when  the  Columbia  River  was  a  romance  and  a  mystery  to  the  people  of  the 
United  States,  quite  a  flourishing  and  beautiful  village  adorned  its  northern 
shore,  and  that  too  erected  and  sustained  by  the  enemies  of  American  enter- 
prise on  soil  commonly  believed  to  belong  to  the  United  States :  fair  foes  the 
author  firmly  believes  them  to  have  been  in  those  days,  yet  foes  nevertheless. 

The  system  on  which  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  conducted  its  business  was 
the  result  of  long  experience,  and  was  admirable  for  its  method  and  its  justice  also. 
When  a  young  man  entered  its  service  as  a  clerk,  his  wages  were  small  for  sev- 
eral years,  increasing  only  as  his  ability  and  good  conduct  entitled  him  to  advance- 
ment. When  his  salary  had  reached  one  hundred  pounds  sterling  he  became 
eligible  to  a  chief-tradership  as  a  partner  in  the  concern,  from  which  position 
he  was  promoted  to  the  rank  of  a  chief  factor.  No  important  business  was 
ever  intrusted  to  an  inexperienced  person,  a  policy  which  almost  certainly  pre- 
vented any  serious  errors.  A  regular  tariff  was  established  on  the  Company's 
goods,  comprising  all  the  articles  used  in  their  trade  with  the  Indians ;  nor  was 
the  quality  of  their  goods  ever  allowed  to  deteriorate.  A  price  was  also  fixed 
upon  furs  according  to  their  market  value,  and  an  Indian  knowing  this,  knew 
exactly  what  he  could  purchase.  No  bartering  was  allowed.  When  skins 
were  offered  for  sale  at  the  fort  they  were  handed  to  the  clerk  through  a  win- 
dow like  a  post-office  delivery-window,  and  their  value  in  the  article  desired, 
returned  through  the  same  aperture.  All  these  regulations  were  of  the  high- 
est importance  to  the  good  order,  safety,  and  profit  of  the  Company.     The  con- 


26  INTOXICATING  LIQUORS. 

fidence  of  the  Indians  was  sure  to  be  gained  by  the  constancy  and  good  faith 
always  observed  toward  them,  and  the  Company  obtained  thereby  numerous 
and  powerful  allies  in  nearly  all  the  tribes. 

As  soon  as  it  was  possible  to  make  the  change,  the  Indians  were  denied  the 
use  of  intoxicating  drinks,  the  appetite  for  which  had  early  been  introduced 
among  them  by  coasting  vessels,  and  even  continued  by  the  Pacific  Fur  Com- 
pany at  Astoria.  It  would  have  been  dangerous  to  have  suddenly  deprived 
them  of  the  coveted  stimulus ;  therefore  the  practice  must  be  discontinued  by 
many  wise  arts  and  devices.  A  public  notice  was  given  that  the  sale  of  it 
would  be  stopped,  and  the  reasons  for  this  prohibition  explained  to  the  Indians. 
Still,  not  to  come  into  direct  conflict  with  their  appetites,  a  little  was  sold  to 
the  chiefs,  now  and  then,  by  the  clerks,  who  affected  to  be  running  the  greatest 
risks  in  violating  the  order  of  the  company.  The  strictest  secrecy  was  enjoined 
on  the  lucky  chief  who,  by  the  friendship  of  some  under-clerk,  was  enabled  to 
smuggle  off  a  bottle  under  his  blanket.  But  the  cunning  clerk  had  generally 
managed  to  get  his  "  good  friend "  into  a  state  so  cleverly  between  drunk  and 
sober,  before  he  entrusted  him  with  the  precious  bottle,  that  he  was  sure  to 
betray  himself.  Leaving  the  shop  with  a  mien  even  more  erect  than  usual, 
with  a  gait  affected  in  its  majesty,  and  his  blanket  tightened  around  him  to 
conceal  his  secret  treasure,  the  chuckling  chief  would  start  to  cross  the  grounds 
within  the  fort.  If  he  was  a  new  customer,  he  was  once  or  twice  permitted  to 
play  his  little  game  with  the  obliging  clerk  whose  particular  friend  he  was,  and 
to  escape  detection. 

But  by-and-by,  when  the  officers  had  seen  the  offence  repeated  more  than 
once  from  their  purposely  contrived  posts  of  observation,  one  of  them  would 
skillfully  chance  to  intercept  the  guilty  chief  at  whose  comical  endeavors  to 
appear  sober  he  was  inwardly  laughing,  and  charge  him  with  being  intoxicated. 
Wresting  away  the  tightened  blanket,  the  bottle  appeared  as  evidence  that 
could  not  be  controverted,  of  the  duplicity  of  the  Indian  and  the  unfaithfulness 
of  the  clerk,  whose  name  was  instantly  demanded,  that  he  might  be  properly 
punished.  When  the  chief  again  visited  the  fort,  his  particular  friend  met  him 
with  a  sorrowful  countenance,  reproaching  him  for  having  been  the  cause  of 
his  disgrace  and  loss.  This  reproaeh  was  the  surest  means  of  preventing  an- 
other demand  for  rum,  the  Indian  being  too  magnanimous,  probably,  to  wish  to 
get  his  friend  into  trouble  ;  while  the  clerk  affected  to  fear  the  consequences 
too  much  to  be  induced  to  take  the  risk  another  time.  Thus  by  kind  and  care- 
ful means  the  traffic  in  liquors  was  at  length  broken  up,  which  otherwise  would 
have  ruined  both  Indian  and  trader. 

To  the  company's  servants  liquor  was  sold  or  allowed  at  certain  times :  to 
those  on  the  sea-board,  one  half-pint  two  or  three  times  a  year,  to  be  used  as 
medicine, — not  that  it  was  always  needed  or  used  for  this  purpose,  but  too  strict 
inquiry  into  its  use  was  wisely  avoided, — and  for  this  the  company  demanded 
pay.  To  their  servants  in  the  interior  no  liquor  was  sold,  but  they  were  fur- 
nished as  a  gratuity  with  one  pint  on  leaving  rendezvous,  and  another  on  arriv- 
ing at  winter  quarters.     By  this  management,  it  became  impossible  for  them  to 


ARRIVAL    OP    "  THE    BRIGADE."  27 

dispose  of  drink  to  the  Indians ;  their  small  allowance  being  always  immedi- 
ately consumed  in  a  meeting  or  parting  carouse. 

The  arrival  of  men  from  the  interior  at  Fort  Vancouver  usually  took  place 
in  the  month  of  June,  when  the  Columbia  was  high,  and  a  stirring  scene  it 
was.  The  chief  traders  generally  contrived  their  march  through  the  upper 
country,  their  camps,  and  their  rendezvous,  so  as  to  meet  the  Express  which 
annually  came  to  Vancouver  from  Canada  and  the  Red  River  settlements. 
They  then  descended  the  Columbia  together,  and  arrived  in  force  at  the  Fort. 
This  annual  fleet  went  by  the  name  of  Brigade — a  name  which  suggested  a 
military  spirit  in  the  crews  that  their  appearance  failed  to  vindicate.  Yet, 
though  there  was  nothing  warlike  in  the  scene,  there  was  much  that  was  excit- 
ing, picturesque,  and  even  brilliant ;  for  these  couriers  de  boix,  or  wood-rangers, 
and  the  voyageurs,  or  boatmen,  were  the  most  foppish  of  mortals  when  they 
came  to  rendezvous.  Then,  too,  there  was  an  exaltation  of  spirits  on  their  safe 
arrival  at  head-quarters,  after  their  year's  toil  and  danger  in  wildernesses, 
among  Indians  and  wild  beasts,  exposed  to  famine  and  accident,  that  almost 
deprived  them  of  what  is  called  "  common  sense,"  and  compelled  them  to  the 
most  fantastic  excesses. 

Their  well-understood  peculiarities  did  not  make  them  the  less  welcome  at 
Vancouver.  When  the  cry  was  given — "  the  Brigade !  the  Brigade ! " — there 
was  a  general  rush  to  the  river's  bank  to  witness  the  spectacle.  In  advance 
came  the  chief-trader's  barge,  with  the  company's  flag  at  the  bow,  and  the 
cross  of  St.  George  at  the  stern :  the  fleet  as  many  abreast  as  the  turnings  of 
the  river  allowed.  With  strong  and  skillful  strokes  the  boatmen  governed  their 
richly  laden  boats,  keeping  them  in  line,  and  at  the  same  time  singing  in  chorus 
a  loud  and  not  unmusical  hunting  or  boating  song.  The  gay  ribbons  and  feath- 
ers with  which  the  singers  were  bedecked  took  nothing  from  the  picturesque- 
ness  of  their  appearance.  The  broad,  full  river,  sparkling  in  the  sunlight, 
gemmed  with  emerald  islands,  and  bordered  with  a  rich  growth  of  flowering 
shrubbery ;  the  smiling  plain  surrounding  the  Fort ;  the  distant  mountains, 
where  glittered  the  sentinel  Mt.  Hood,  all  came  gracefully  into  the  picture,  and 
seemed  to  furnish  a  fitting  back-ground  and  middle  distance  for  the  bright  bit 
of  coloring  given  by  the  moving  life  in  the  scene.  As  with  a  skillful  sweep  the 
brigade  touched  the  bank,  and  the  traders  and  men  sprang  on  shore,  the  first 
cheer  which  had  welcomed  their  appearance  was  heartily  repeated,  while  a  gay 
clamor  of  questions  and  answers  followed. 

After  the  business  immediately  incident  to  their  arrival  had  been  dispatched, 
then  took  place  the  regale  of  pork,  flour,  and  spirits,  which  was  sure  to  end  in 
a  carouse,  during  which  blackened  eyes  and  broken  noses  were  not  at  all  un- 
common ;  but  though  blood  was  made  to  flow,  life  was  never  put  seriously  in 
peril,  and  the  belligerent  parties  were  the  best  of  friends  when  the  fracas  was 
ended. 

The  business  of  exchange  being  completed  in  three  or  four  weeks — the  rich 
stores  of  peltries  consigned  to  their  places  in  the  warehouse,  and  the  boats  re-, 
laden  with  goods  for  the  next  year's  trade  with  the  Indians  in  the  upper  country, 
a  parting  carouse  took  place,  and  with  another  parade  of  feathers,  ribbons,  and 


23  OTHER    YEARLY    ARRIVALS. 

other  finery,  the  brigade  departed  with  songs  and  cheers  as  it  had  come,  but 
with  probably  heavier  hearts. 

It  would  be  a  stern  morality  indeed  which  could  look  upon  the  excesses  of 
this  peculiar  class  as  it  would  upon  the  same  excesses  committed  by  men  in  the 
enjoyment  of  all  the  comforts  and  pleasures  of  civilized  life.  For  them,  during 
most  of  the  year,  was  only  an  out-door  life  of  toil,  watchfulness,  peril,  and 
isolation.  When  they  arrived  at  the  rendezvous,  for  the  brief  period  of  their 
stay  they  were  allowed  perfect  license  because  nothing  else  would  content 
them.  Although  at  head-quarters  they  were  still  in  the  wilderness,  thousands 
of  miles  from  civilization,  with  no  chance  of  such  recreations  as  men  in  the 
continual  enjoyment  of  life's  sweetest  pleasures  would  naturally  seek.  For 
them  there  was  only  one  method  of  seeking  and  finding  temporary  oblivion  of 
the  accustomed  hardship  ;  and  whatever  may  be  the  strict  rendering  of  man's 
duty  as  an  immortal  being,  we  cannot  help  being  somewhat  lenient  at  times  to 
his  errors  as  a  mortal. 

After  the  departure  of  the  boats,  there  was  another  arrival  at  the  Fort,  of 
trappers  from  the  Snake  River  county.  Previous  to  1832,  such  were  the  dan- 
gers of  the  fur  trade  in  this  region,  that  only  the  most  experienced  traders 
were  suffered  to  conduct  a  party  through  it ;  and  even  they  were  frequently 
attacked,  and  sometimes  sustained  serious  losses  of  men  and  animals.  Subse- 
quently, however,  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  obtained  such  an  influence  over 
even  these  hostile  tribes  as  to  make  it  safe  for  a  party  of  no  more  than  two  of 
their  men  to  travel  through  this  much  dreaded  region. 

There  was  another  important  arrival  at  Fort  Vancouver,  usually  in  mid- 
summer. This  was  the  Company's  supply  ship  from  London.  In  the  possible 
event  of  a  vessel  being  lost,  one  cargo  was  always  kept  on  store  at  Vancouver ; 
but  for  which  wise  regulation  much  trouble  and  disaster  might  have  resulted, 
especially  in  the  early  days  of  the  establishment.  Occasionally  a  vessel  foun- 
dered at  sea  or  was  lost  on  the  bar  of  the  Columbia  ;  but  these  losses  did  not 
interrupt  the  regular  transaction  of  business.  The  arrival  of  a  ship  from  Lon- 
don was  the  occasion  of  great  bustle  and  excitement  also.  She  brought  not 
only  goods  for  the  posts  throughout  the  district  of  the  Columbia,  but  letters, 
papers,  private  parcels,  and  all  that  seemed  of  so  much  value  to  the  little 
isolated  world  at  the  Fort. 

A  company  conducting  its  business  with  such  method  and  regularity  as  has 
been  described,  was  certain  of  success.  Yet  some  credit  also  must  attach  to 
certain  individuals  in  its  service,  whose  faithfulness,  zeal,  and  ability  in  carry- 
ing out  its  designs,  contributed  largely  to  its  welfare.  Such  a  man  was  at  the 
head  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company's  affairs  in  the  large  and  important  dis- 
trict west  of  the  Rocky  Mountains.  The  Company  never  had  in  its  service  a 
more  efficient  man  than  Gov.  John  McLaughlin,  more  commonly  called  Dr. 
McLaughlin. 

To  the  discipline,  at  once  severe  and  just,  which  Dr.  McLaughlin  maintained 

B  in  his  district,  was  due  the  safety  and  prosperity  of  the  company  he  served, 

and  the  servants  of  that  company  generally  ;  as  well  as,  at  a  later  period,  of 

the  emigration  which  followed  the  hunter  and  trapper  into  the  wilds  of  Oregon. 


PUNISHMENT    OF    INDIAN    OFFENDERS  29 

Careful  as  were  all  the  officers  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company,  they  could  not 
always  avoid  conflicts  with  the  'Indians ;  nor  was  their  kindness  and  justice 
always  sufficiently  appreciated  to  prevent  the  outbreak  of  savage  instincts. 
Fort  Vancouver  had  been  tlireatened  in  an  early  day ;  a  vessel  or  two  had 
been  lost  in  which  the  Indians  were  suspected  to  have  been  implicated ;  at 
long  intervals  a  trader  was  murdered  in  the  interior ;  or  more  frequently, 
Indian  insolence  put  to  the  test  both  the  wisdom  and  courage  of  the  officers  to 
prevent  an  outbreak. 

When  murders  and  robberies  were  committed,  it  was  the  custom  at  Fort 
Vancouver  to  send  a  strong  party  to  demand  the  offenders  from  their  tribe ; 
Such  was  the  well  known  power  and  influence  of  the  Company,  and  such  the 
wholesome  fear  of  the  "  King  George  men,"  that  this  demand  was  never  re- 
sisted, and  if  the  murderer  could  be  found  he  was  given  up  to  be  hung  accord- 
ing to  "  King  George  "  laws.  They  were  almost  equally  impelled  to  good  con- 
duct by  the  state  of  dependence  on  the  company  into  which  they  had  been 
brought.  Once  they  had  subsisted  and  clothed  themselves  from  the  spoils  of 
the  rivers  and  forest ;  since  they  had  tasted  of  the  tree  of  knowledge  of  good 
and  evil,  they  could  no  more  return  to  skins  for  raiment,  nor  to  game  alone  for 
food.  Blankets  and  flour,  beads,  guns,  and  ammunition  had  become  dear  to 
their  hearts  :  for  all  these  things  they  must  love  and  obey  the  Hudson's  Bay 
Company.  Another  fine  stroke  of  policy  in  the  Company  was  to  destroy  the 
chieftain-ships  in  the  various  tribes ;  thus  weakening  them  by  dividing  them 
and  preventing  dangerous  coalitions  of  the  leading  spirits :  for  in  savage  as 
well  as  civilized  life,  the  many  are  governed  by  the  few. 

It  may  not  be  uninteresting  in  this  place  to  give  a  few  anecdotes  of  the  man- 
ner in  which  conflicts  with  the  Indians  were  prevented,  or  offences  punished 
by  the  Hudson  s  Bay  Company.  In  the  year  1828  the  ship  William  and  Ann 
was  cast  away  just  inside  the  bar  of  the  Columbia,  under  circumstances  which 
seemed  to  direct  suspicion  to  the  Indians  in  that  vicinity.  Whether  or  not 
they  had  attacked  the  ship,  not  a  soul  was  saved  from  the  wreck  to  tell  how 
she  was  lost.  On  hearing  that  the  ship  had  gone  to  pieces,  and  that  the  In- 
dians had  appropriated  a  portion  of  her  cargo,  Dr.  McLaughlin  sent  a  message 
to  the  chiefs,  demanding  restitution  of  the  stolen  goods.  Nothing  was  returned 
by  the  messenger  except  one  or  two  worthless  articles.  Immediately  an  armed 
force  was  sent  to  the  scene  of  the  robbery  with  a  fresh  demand  for  the  goods, 
which  the  chiefs,  in  view  of  their  spoils,  thought  proper  to  resist  by  firing  upon 
the  reclaiming  party.  But  they  were  not  unprepared  ;  and  a  swivel  was  dis- 
charged to  let  the  savages  know  what  they  might  expect  in  the  way  of  fire- 
arms. The  argument  was  conclusive,  the  Indians  fleeing  into  the  woods. 
While  making  search  for  the  goods,  a  portion  of  which  were  found,  a  chief 
■was  observed  skulking  near,  and  cocking  his  gun  ;  on  which  motion  one  of  the 
men  fired,  and  he  fell.  This  prompt  action,  the  justice  of  which  the  Indians 
well  understood,  and  the  intimidating  power  of  the  swivel,  put  an  end  to  the  in- 
cipient war.  Care  was  then  taken  to  impress  upon  their  minds  that  thev  must 
not  expect  to  profit  by  the  disasters  of  vessels,  nor  be  tempted  to  murder  white 
men  for  the  sake  of  plunder.     The  William  and  Ann  was  supposed  to  have  got 


30  INDIAN    STRATEGY. 

aground,  when  the  savages  seeing  her  situation,  boarded  her  and  murdered  the 
crew  for  the  cargo  which  they  knew  her  to  contain.  Yet  as  there  were  no  posi- 
tive proofs,  only  such  measures  were  taken  as  would  deter  them  from  a  similar 
attempt  in  future.  That  the  lesson  was  not  lost,  was  proven  two  years  later, 
when  the  Isabella,  from  London,  struck  on  the  bar,  her  crew  deserting  her.  In 
this  instance  no  attempt  was  made  to  meddle  with  the  vessel's  cargo  ;  and  as 
the  crew  made  their  way  to  Vancouver,  the  goods  were  nearly  all  saved. 

In  a  former  voyage  of  the  William  and  Ann  to  the  Columbia  River,  she  had 
been  sent  on  an  exploring  expedition  to  the  Gulf  of  Georgia  to  discover  the 
mouth  of  Frazier's  River,  having  on  board  a  crew  of  forty  men.  Whenever 
the  ship  came  to  anchor,  two  sentries  were  kept  constantly  on  deck  to  guard 
against  any  surprise  or  misconduct  on  the  part  of  the  Indians ;  so  adroit,  how- 
ever, were  they  in  the  light-fingered  art,  that  every  one  of  the  eight  cannon 
with  which  the  ship  was  armed  was  robbed  of  its  ammunition,  as  was  discovered 
on  leaving  the  river  1  Such  incidents  as  these  served  to  impress  the  minds  of 
the  Company's  officers  and  servants  with  the  necessity  of  vigilance  in  their  deal- 
ings with  the  savages. 

Not  all  their  vigilance  could  at  all  times  avail  to  prevent  mischief.  When 
Sir  George  Simpson,  Governor  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company,  was  on  a  visit 
to  Vancouver  in  1829,  he  was  made  aware  of  this  truism.  The  Governor  was 
on  his  return  to  Canada  by  way  of  the  Red  River  Settlement,  and  had  reached 
the  Dalles  of  the  Columbia  with  his  party.  In  making  the  portage  at  this 
place,  all  the  party  except  Dr.  Tod  gave  their  guns  into  the  charge  of  two  men 
to  prevent  their  being  stolen  by  the  Indians,  who  crowded  about,  and  whose 
well-known  bad  character  made  great  care  needful.  All  went  well,  no  attempt 
to  seize  either  guns  or  other  property  being  made  until  at  the  end  of  the  port- 
age the  boats  had  been  reloaded.  As  the  party  were  about  to  re-embark,  a 
simultaneous  rush  was  made  by  the  Indians  who  had  dogged  their  steps,  to  get 
possession  of  the  boats.  Dr.  Tod  raised  his  gun  immediately,  aiming  at  the 
head  chief,  who,  not  liking  the  prospect  of  so  speedy  dissolution,  ordered  his 
followers  to  desist,  and  the  party  were  suffered  to  escape.  It  was  soon  after 
discovered  that  every  gun  belonging  to  the  party  in  the  boat  had  been  wet, 
excepting  the  one  carried  by  Dr.  Tod ;  and  to  the  fact  that  the  Doctor  did  carry 
his  gun,  all  the  others  owed  their  lives. 

The  great  desire  of  the  Indians  for  guns  and  ammunition  led  to  many  strata- 
gems which  were  dangerous  to  the  possessors  of  the  coveted  articles.  Much 
more  dangerous  would  it  have  been  to  have  allowed  them  a  free  supply  of  these 
things ;  nor  could  an  Indian  purchase  from  the  Company  more  than  a  stated 
supply,  which  was  to  be  used,  not  for  the  purposes  of  war,  but  to  keep  himself 
in  game. 

Dr.  McLaughlin  was  himself  once  quite  near  falling  into  a  trap  of  the  Indians, 
so  cunningly  laid  as  to  puzzle  even  him.  This  was  a  report  brought  to  him 
by  a  deputation  of  Columbia  River  Indians,  stating  the  startling  fact  that  the 
fort  at  Nesqually  had  been  attacked,  and  every  inmate  slaughtered.  To  this 
horrible  story,  told  with  every  appearance  of  truth,  the  Doctor  listened  with 
incredulity  mingled  with  apprehension.     The  Indians  were  closely  questioned 


A  HERO.  31 

and  cross-questioned,  but  did  not  conflict  in  their  testimony.  The  matter  as- 
sumed a  very  painful  aspect.  Not  to  be  deceived,  the  Doctor  had  the  unwel- 
come messengers  committed  to  custody  while  he  could  bring  other  witnesses 
from  their  tribe.  But  they  were  prepared  for  this,  and  the  whole  tribe  were  as 
positive  as  those  who  brought  the  tale.  Confounded  by  this  cloud  of  witnesses, 
Dr.  McLaughlin  had  almost  determined  upon  sending  an  armed  force  to  Nes- 
qually  to  inquire  into  the  matter,  and  if  necessary,  punish  the  Indians,  when  a 
detachment  of  men  arrived  from  that  post,  and  the  plot  was  exposed !  The 
design  of  the  Indians  had  been  simply  to  cause  a  division  of  the  force  at  Van- 
couver, after  which  they  believed  they  might  succeed  in  capturing  and  plunder- 
ing the  fort.  Had  they  truly  been  successful  in  this  undertaking,  every  other 
trading-post  in  the  country  would  have  been  destroyed.  But  so  long  as  the 
head-quarters  of  the  Company  remained  secure  and  powerful,  the  other  stations 
were  comparatively  safe. 

An  incident  which  has  been  several  times  related,  occurred  at  fort  Walla- 
Walla,  and  shows  how  narrow  escapes  the  interior  traders  sometimes  made. 
The  hero  of  this  anecdote  was  Mr.  McKinlay,  one  of  the  most  estimable  of  the 
Hudson's  Bay  Company's  officers,  in  charge  of  the  fort  just  named.  An  Indian 
was  one  day  lounging  about  the  fort,  and  seeing  some  timbers  lying  in  a  heap 
that  had  been  squared  for  pack  saddles,  helped  himself  to  one  and  commenced 
cutting  it  down  into  a  whip  handle  for  his  own  use.  To  this  procedure  Mr. 
McKinlay's  clerk  demurred,  first  telling  the  Indian  its  use,  and  then  ordering 
him  to  resign  the  piece  of  timber.  The  Indian  insolently  replied  that  the  tim- 
ber was  his,  and  he  should  take  it.  At  this  the  clerk,  with  more  temper  than 
prudence,  struck  the  offender,  knocking  him  over,  soon  after  which  the  savage 
left  the  fort  with  sullen  looks  boding  vengeance.  The  next  day  Mr.  McKinlay,. 
not  being  informed  of  what  had  taken  place,  was  in  a  room  of  the  fort  with  his 
clerk  when  a  considerable  party  of  Indians  began  dropping  quietly  in  until 
there  were  fifteen  or  twenty  of  them  inside  the  building.  The  first  intimation 
of  anything  wrong  McKinlay  received  was  when  he  observed  the  clerk  pointed 
out  in  a  particular  manner  by  one  of  the  party.  He  instantly  comprehended 
the  purpose  of  his  visitors,  and  with  that  quickness  of  thought  which  is  habitual 
to  the  student  of  savage  nature,  he  rushed  into  the  store  room  and  returned 
with  a  powder  keg,  flint  and  steel.  By  this  time  the  unlucky  clerk  was  strug- 
gling for  his  life  with  his  vindictive  foes.  Putting  down  the  powder  in  their 
midst  and  knocking  out  the  head  of  the  keg  with  a  blow,  McKinlay  stood  over 
it  ready  to  strike  fire  with  his  flint  and  steel.  The  savages  paused  aghast. 
They  knew  the  nature  of  the  "  perilous  stuff,"  and  also  understood  the  trader's 
purpose.  "  Come,"  said  he  with  a  clear,  determined  voice,  "  you  are  twenty 
braves  against  us  two :  now  touch  him  if  you  dare,  and  see  who  dies  first  "  In 
a  moment  the  fort  was  cleared,  and  McKinlay  was  left  to  inquire  the  cause  of 
what  had  so  nearly  been  a  tragedy.  It  is  hardly  a  subject  of  doubt  whether  or 
not  his  clerk  got  a  scolding.  Soon  after,  such  was  the  powerful  influence 
exerted  by  these  gentlemen,  the  chief  of  the  tribe  flogged  the  pilfering  Indian 
for  the  offence,  and  McKinlay  became  a  great  brave,  a  "  big  heart "  for  his 
couratre. 

3 


32  THE   AMERICAN   FDR   COMPANIES. 

It  was  indeed  necessary  to  have  courage,  patience,  and  prudence  in  dealing 
"with  the  Indians.  These  the  Hudson's  Bay  officers  generally  possessed.  Per- 
haps the  most  irascible  of  them  all  in  the  Columbia  District,  was  their  chiet^ 
Dr.  McLaughlin ;  but  such  was  his  goodness  and  justice  that  even  the  savages 
recognized  it,  and  he  was  hyas  tyee,  or  great  chief,  in  all  respects  to  them. 
Being  on  one  occasion  very  much  annoyed  by  the  pertinacity  of  an  Indian  who 
was  continually  demanding  pay  for  some  stones  with  which  the  Doctor  was 
having  a  vessel  ballasted,  he  seized  one  of  some  size,  and  thrusting  it  in  the 
Indian's  mouth,  cried  out  in  a  furious  manner,  "  pay,  pay !  if  the  stones  are 
yours,  take  them  and  eat  them,  you  rascal !  Pay,  pay  1  the  devil !  the  devil !  " 
upon  which  explosion  of  wrath,  the  native  owner  of  the  soil  thought  it  prudent 
to  withdraw  his  immediate  claims. 

There  was  more,  however,  in  the  Doctor's  action  than  mere  indulgence  of 
wrath.  He  understood  perfectly  that  the  savage  values  only  what  he  can  eat 
and  wear,  and  that  as  he  could  not  put  the  stones  to  either  of  these  uses,  his 
demand  for  pay  was  an  impudent  one. 

Enough  has  been  said  to  give  the  reader  an  insight  into  Indian  character,  to 
prepare  his  mind  for  events  which  are  to  follow,  to  convey  an  idea  of  the  influ- 
ence of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company,  and  to  show  on  what  it  was  founded. 
The  American  Fur  Companies  will  now  be  sketched,  and  their  mode  of  dealing 
with  the  Indians  contrasted  with  that  of  the  British  Company.  The  compari- 
son will  not  be  favorable ;  but  should  any  unfairness  be  suspected,  a  reference 
to  Mr.  Irving's  Bonneville,  will  show  that  the  worthy  Captain  was  forced  to 
witness  against  his  own  countrymen  in  his  narrative  of  his  hunting  and  trading 
adventures  in  the  Kocky  Mountains. 

The  disso'ution  of  the  Pacific  Fur  Company,  the  refusal  of  the  United  States 
Government  to  protect  Mr.  Astor  in  a  second  attempt  to  carry  on  a  commerce 
with  the  Indians  west  of  the  Kocky  Mountains,  and  the  occupation  of  that 
country  by  British  traders,  had  the  effect  to  deter  individual  enterprise  from 
again  attempting  to  establish  commerce  on  the  Pacific  coast.  The  people 
waited  for  the  Government  to  take  some  steps  toward  the  encouragement  of  a 
trans-continental  trade ;  the  Government  beholding  the  lion  (British)  in  the 
way,  waited  for  the  expiration  of  the  convention  of  1818,  in  the  Micawber-like 
hope  that  something  would  "  turn  up  "  to  settle  the  question  of  territorial  sov- 
ereignty. The  war  of  1812  had  been  begun  on  the  part  of  Great  Britain,  to 
secure  the  great  western  territories  to  herself  for  the  profits  of  the  fur  trade, 
almost  solely.  Failing  in  this,  she  had  been  compelled,  by  the  treaty  of  Ghent, 
to  restore  to  the  United  States  all  the  places  and  forts  captured  during  that 
war.  Yet  the  forts  and  trading  posts  in  the  west  remained  practically  in  the 
possession  of  Great  Britain ;  for  her  traders  and  fur  companies  still  roamed  the 
country,  excluding  American  trade,  and  inciting  (so  the  frontiers-men  believed), 
the  Indians  to  acts  of  blood  and  horror. 

Congress  being  importuned  by  the  people  of  the  West,  finally,  in  1815,  passed 
an  act  expelling  British  traders  from  American  territory  east  of  the  Rocky 
Mountains.     Following  the  passage  of  this  act  the  hunters  and  trappers  of  the 


THE   ROCKY   MOUNTAIN    FUR   COMPANY.  33 

old  North  American  Company,  at  the  head  of  which  Mr.  Astor  still  remained, 
began  to  range  the  country  about  the  head  waters  of  the  Mississippi  and  the 
upper  Missouri.  Also  a  few  American  traders  had  ventured  into  the  northern 
provinces  of  Mexico,  previous  to  the  overthrow  of  the  Spanish  Government ; 
and  after  that  event,  a  thriving  trade  grew  up  between  St.  Louis  and  Santa  Fe. 

At  length,  in  1823,  Mr.  W.  H.  Ashley,  of  St.  Louis,  a  merchant  for  a  long 
time  engaged  in  the  fur  trade  on  the  Missouri  and  its  tributaries,  determined  to 
push  a  trading  party  up  to  or  beyond  the  Rocky  Mountains.  Following  up 
the  Platte  River,  Mr.  Ashley  proceeded  at  the  head  of  a  large  party  with  horses 
and  merchandise,  as  far  as  the  northern  branch  of  the  Platte,  called  the  Sweet- 
water. This  he  explored  to  its  source,  situated  in  that  remarkable  depression 
in  the  Rocky  Mountains,  known  as  the  South  Pass — the  same  which  Fremont 
discovered  twenty  years  later,  during  which  twenty  years  it  was  annually  trav- 
eled by  trading  parties,  and  just  prior  to  Fremont's  discovery,  by  missionaries 
and  emigrants  destined  to  Oregon.  To  Mr.  Ashley  also  belongs  the  credit  of 
having  first  explored  the  head-waters  of  the  Colorado,  called  the  Green  River, 
afterwards  a  favorite  rendezvous  of  the  American  Fur  Companies.  The  coun- 
try about  the  South  Pass  proved  to  be  an  entirely  new  hunting  ground,  and 
very  rich  in  furs,  as  here  many  rivers  take  their  rise,  whose  head-waters  fur- 
nished abundant  beaver.  Here  Mr.  Ashley  spent  the  summer,  returning  to  St. 
Louis  in  the  fall  with  a  valuable  collection  of  skins. 

In  1824,  Mr.  Ashley  repeated  the  expedition,  extending  it  this  time  beyond 
Green  River  as  far  as  Great  Salt  Lake,  near  which  to  the  south  he  discovered 
another  smaller  lake,  which  he  named  Lake  Ashley,  after  himself.  On  the 
shores  of  this  lake  he  built  a  fort  for  trading  with  the  Indians,  and  leaving  in  it 
about  one  hundred  men,  returned  to  St.  Louis  the  second  time  with  a  large 
amount  of  furs.  During  the  time  the  fort  was  occupied  by  Mr.  Ashley's  men,  a 
period  of  three  years,  more  than  one  hundred  and  eighty  thousand  dollars  worth 
of  furs  were  collected  and  sent  to  St.  Louis.  In  1827,  the  fort,  and  all  Mr. 
Ashley's  interest  in  the  business,  was  sold  to  the  Rocky  Mountain  Fur  Company, 
at  the  head  of  which  were  Jedediah  Smith,  William  Sublette,  and  David 
Jackson,  Sublette  being  the  leading  spirit  in  the  Company. 

The  custom  of  these  enterprising  traders,  who  had  been  in  the  mountains 
since  1824,  was  to  divide  their  force,  each  taking  his  command  to  a  good  hunt- 
ing ground,  and  returning  at  stated  times  to  rendezvous,*  generally  appointed 
on  the  head-waters  of  Green  River.  Frequently  the  other  fur  companies,  (for 
there  were  other  companies  formed  on  the  heels  of  Ashley's  enterprise,)  learn- 
ing of  the  place  appointed  for  the  yearly  rendezvous,  brought  their  goods  to 
the  same  Tesort,  when  an  intense  rivalry  was  exhibited  by  the  several  traders 
as  to  which  company  should  soonest  dispose  of  its  goods,  getting,  of  course,  the 
largest  amount  of  furs  from  the  trappers  and  Indians.  So  great  was  the  com- 
petition in  the  years  between  1826  and  1829,  when  there  were  about  six  hun- 
dred American  trappers  in  and  about  the  Rocky  Mountains,  besides  those  of 
the  Hudson's  Bay  Company,  that  it  was  death  for  a  man  of  one  company  to 
dispose  of  his  furs  to  a  rival  association.  Even  a  "  free  trapper  " — that  is,  one 
not  indentured,  but  hunting  upon  certain  terms  of  agreement  concerning  the 


34'  ATTACK    ON    SMITH'S    PARTY. 

price  of  his  furs  and  the  cost  of  his  outfit,  only,  dared  not  sell  to  any  other 
company  than  the  one  he  had  agreed  with. 

Jedediah  Smith,  of  the  Rocky  Mountain  Fur  Company,  during  their  first 
year  in  the  mountains,  took  a  party  of  five  trappers  into  Oregon,  being  the 
first  American,  trader  or  other,  to  cross  into  that  country  since  the  breaking 
up  of  Mr.  Astor's  establishment.  He  trapped  on  the  head-waters  of  the  Snake 
River  until  autumn,  when  he  fell  in  with  a  party  of  Hudson's  Bay  trappers, 
and  going  with  them  to  their  post  in  the  Flathead  country,  wintered  there. 

Again,  in  1826,  Smith,  Sublette,  and  Jackson,  brought  out  a  large  number  of 
men  to  trap  in  the  Snake  River  country,  and  entered  into  direct  competition 
with  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company,  whom  they  opposed  with  hardly  a  degree 
more  of  zeal  than  they  competed  with  rival  American  traders  :  this  one  extra 
degree  being  inspired  by  a  "  spirit  of  '76  "  toward  anything  British. 

After  the  Rocky  Mountain  Fur  Company  had  extended  its  business  by  the 
purchase  of  Mr.  Ashley's  interest,  the  partners  determined  to  push  their  enter- 
prise to  the  Pacific  coast,  regardless  of  the  opposition  they  were  likely  to  en- 
counter from  the  Hudson's  Bay  traders.  Accordingly,  in  the  spring  of  1827, 
the  Company  was  divided  up  into  three  parts,  to  be  led  separately,  by  different 
routes,  into  the  Indian  Territory,  nearer  the  ocean. 

Smith's  route  was  from  the  Platte  River,  southwards  to  Santa  Fe,  thence  to 
the  bay  of  San  Francisco,  and  thence  along  the  coast  to  the  Columbia  River. 
His  party  were  successful,  and  had  arrived  in  the  autumn  of  the  following  year 
at  the  Umpqua  River,  about  two  hundred  miles  south  of  the  Columbia,  in 
safety.  Here  one  of  those  sudden  reverses  to  which  the  "  mountain-man  "  is 
liable  at  any  moment,  overtook  him.  His  party  at  this  time  consisted  of  thir- 
teen men,  with  their  horses,  and  a  collection  of  furs  valued  at  twenty  thousand 
dollars.  Arrived  at  the  Umpqua,  they  encamped  for  the  night  on  its  southern 
bank,  unaware  that  the  natives  in  this  vicinity  (the  Shastas)  were  more  fierce 
and  treacherous  than  the  indolent  tribes  of  California,  for  whom,  probably, 
they  had  a  great  contempt.  All  went  well  until  the  following  morning,  the 
Indians  hanging  about  the  camp,  but  apparently  friendly.  Smith  had  just 
breakfasted,  and  was  occupied  in  looking  for  a  fording-place  for  the  animals, 
being  on  a  raft,  and  having  with  him  a  little  Englishman  and  one  Indian. 
When  they  were  in  the  middle  of  the  river  the  Indian  snatched  Smith's  gun 
and  jumped  into  the«water.  At  the  same  instant  a  yell  from  the  camp,  which 
was  in  sight,  proclaimed  that  it  was  attacked.  Quick  as  thought  Smith 
snatched  the  Englishman's  gun,  and  shot  dead  the  Indian  in  the  river. 

To  return  to  the  camp  was  certain  death.  Already  several  of  his  men  had 
fallen  ;  overpowered  by  numbers  he  could  not  hope  that  any  would  escape,  and 
nothing  was  left  him  but  flight.  He  succeeded  in  getting  to  the  opposite  shore 
with  his  raft  before  he  could  be  intercepted,  and  fled  with  his  companion,  on 
foot  and  with  only  one  gun,  and  no  provisions,  to  the  mountains  that  border 
the  river.  "With  great  good  fortune  they  were  enabled  to  pass  through  the  re- 
maining two  hundred  miles  of  their  journey  without  accident,  though  not  with- 
out suffering,  and  reach  Fort  Vancouver  in  a  destitute  condition,  where  they 
were  kindly  cared  for. 


JOSEPH   L.   MEEK.  35 

Of  the  men  left  in  camp,  only  two  escaped.  One  man  named  Black  de- 
fended himself  until  he  saw  an  opportunity  for  flight,  when  he  escaped  to  the 
cover  of  the  woods,  and  finally  to  a  friendly  tribe  farther  north,  near  the  coast, 
who  piloted  him  to  Vancouver.  The  remaining  man  was  one  Turner,  of  a  very 
powerful  frame,  who  was  doing  camp  duty  as  cook  on  this  eventful  morning. 
When  the  Indians  rushed  upon  him  he  defended  himself  with  a  huge  firebrand, 
or  half-burnt  poplar  stick,  with  which  he  laid  about  him  like  Sampson,  killing 
four  red-skins  before  he  saw  a  chance  of  escape.  Singularly,  for  one  in  his  ex- 
tremity, he  did  escape,  and  also  arrived  at  Vancouver  that  winter. 

Dr.  McLaughlin  received  the  unlucky  trader  and  his  three  surviving  men 
with  every  mark  and  expression  of  kindness,  and  entertained  them  through  the 
winter.  Not  only  this,  but  he  dispatched  a  strong,  armed  party  to  the  scene 
of  the  disaster  to  punish  the  Indians  and  recover  the  stolen  goods  ;  all  of  which 
was  done  at  his  own  expense,  both  as  an  act  of  friendship  toward  his  Ameri- 
can rivals,  and  as  necessary  to  the  discipline  which  they  everywhere  maintained 
among  the  Indians.  Should  this  offence  go  unpunished,  the  next  attack  might 
be  upon  one  of  his  own  parties  going  annually  down  into  California.  Sir 
George  Simpson,  the  Governor  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company,  chanced  to  be 
spending  the  winter  at  Vancouver.  He  offered  to  send  Smith  to  London  the 
following  summer,  in  the  Company's  vessel,  where  he  might  dispose  of  his  furs 
to  advantage ;  but  Smith  declined  this  offer,  and  finally  sold  his  furs  to  Dr. 
McLaughlin,  and  returned  in  the  spring  to  the  Rocky  Mountains. 

On  Sublette's  return  from  St.  Louis,  in  the  summer  of  1829,  with  men  and 
merchandise  for  the  year's  trade,  he  became  uneasy  on  account  of  Smith's  pro- 
tracted absence.  According  to  a  previous  plan,  he  took  a  large  party  into  the 
Snake  River  country  to  hunt.  Among  the  recruits  from  St.  Louis  was  Joseph 
L.  Meek,  the  subject  of  the  narrative  following  this  chapter.  Sublette  not 
meeting  with  Smith's  party  on  its  way  from  the  Columbia,  as  he  still  hoped,  at 
length  detailed  a  party  to  look  for  him  on  the  head-waters  of  the  Snake.  .  Meek 
was  one  of  the  men  sent  to  look  for  the  missing  partner,  whom  he  discovered 
at  length  in  Pierre's  Hole,  a  deep  valley  in  the  mountains,  from  which  issues 
the  Snake  River  in  many  living  streams.  Smith  returned  with  the  men  to 
camp,  where  the  tale  of  his  disasters  was  received  after  the  manner  of  moun- 
tain-men, simply  declaring  with  a  momentarily  sobered  countenance,  that  their 
comrade  has  not  been  "  in  luck ; "  with  which  brief  and  equivocal  expression 
of  sympathy  the  subject  is  dismissed.  To  dwell  on  the  dangers  incident  to 
their  calling  would  be  to  half  disarm  themselves  of  their  necessary  courage  ; 
and  it  is  only  when  they  are  gathered  about  the  fire  in  their  winter  camp,  that 
they  indulge  in  tales  of  wild  adventure  and  "  hair-breadth  'scapes,"  or  make 
sorrowful  reference  to  a  comrade  lost. 

Influenced  by  the  hospitable  treatment  which  Smith  had  received  at  the 
hands  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company,  the  partners  now  determined  to  with- 
draw from  competition  with  them  in  the  Snake  country,  and  to  trap  upon  the 
waters  of  the  Colorado,  in  the  neighborhood  of  their  fort.  But  "  luck,"  the 
mountain-man's  Providence,  seemed  to  have  deserted  Smith.  In  crossing  the 
Colorado  River  with  a  considerable  collection  of  skins,  he  was  again  attacked 


36  wyeth's  expeditions. 

by  Indians,  and  only  escaped  by  losing  all  his  property.  He  then  went  to  St. 
Louis  for  a  supply  of  merchandise,  and  fitted  out  a  trading  party  for  Santa  Fe  ; 
but  on  his  way  to  that  place  was  killed  in  an  encounter  with  the  savages. 

Turner,  the  man  who  so  valiantly  wielded  the  firebrand  on  the  Umpqua 
River,  several  years  later  met  with  a  similar  adventure  on  the  Rogue  River,  in 
Southern  Oregon,  and  was  the  means  of  saving  the  lives  of  his  party  by  his 
courage,  strength,  and  alertness.  He  finally,  when  trapping  had  become  un- 
profitable, retired  upon  a  farm  in  the  Wallamet  Valley,  as  did  many  other 
mountain-men  who  survived  the  dangers  of  their  perilous  trade. 

After  the  death  of  Smith,  the  Rocky  Mountain  Fur  Company  continued  its 
operations  under  the  command  of  Bridger,  Fitzpatrick,  and  Milton  Sublette, 
brother  of  William.  In  the  spring  of  1830  they  received  about  two  hundred 
recruits,  and  with  little  variation  kept  up  their  number  of  three  or  four  hundred 
men  for  a  period  of  eight  or  ten  years  longer,  or  until  the  beaver  were  hunted 
out  of  every  nook  and  corner  of  the  Rocky  Mountains. 

Previous  to  1835,  there  were  in  and  about  the  Rocky  Mountains,  beside  the 
"  American  "  and  "  Rocky  Mountain  "  companies,  the  St.  Louis  Company,  and 
eight  or  ten  "  lone  traders."  Among  these  latter  were  William  Sublette, 
Robert  Campbell,  J.  O.  Pattie,  Mr.  Pilcher,  Col.  Charles  Bent,  St.  Train, 
William  Bent,  Mr.  Gant,  and  Mr.  Blackwell.  All  these  companies  and 
traders  more  or  less  frequently  penetrated  into  the  countries  of  New  Mexico, 
Old  Mexico,  Sonora,  and  California ;  returning  sometimes  through  the  moun- 
tain regions  of  the  latter  State,  by  the  Humboldt  River  to  the  head-waters  of 
the  Colorado.  Seldom,  in  all  their  journeys,  did  they  intrude  on  that  portion 
of  the  Indian  Territory  lying  within  three  hundred  miles  of  Fort  Vancouver, 
or  which  forms  the  area  of  the  present  State  of  Oregon. 

Up  to  1832,  the  fur  trade  in  the  AVest  had  been  chiefly  conducted  by  mer- 
chants from  the  frontier  cities,  especially  by  those  of  St.  Louis.  The  old 
"  North  American  "  was  the  only  exception.  But  in  the  spring  of  this  year, 
Captain  Bonneville,  an  United  States  officer  on  furlough,  led  a  company  of  a 
hundred  men,  with  a  train  of  wagons,  horses  and  mules,  with  merchandise,  into 
the  trapping  grounds  of  the  Rocky  Mountains.  His  wagons  were  the  first  that 
had  ever  crossed  the  summit  of  these  mountains,  though  William  Sublette  had, 
two  or  three  years  previous,  brought  wagons  as  far  as  the  valley  of  the  Wind 
River,  on  the  east  side  of  the  range.  Captain  Bonneville  remained  nearly 
three  years  in  the  hunting  and  trapping  grounds,  taking  parties  of  men  into 
the  Colorado,  Humboldt,  and  Sacramento  valleys ;  but  he  realized  no  profits 
from  his  expedition,  being  opposed  and  competed  with  by  both  British  and 
American  traders  of  larger  experience. 

But  Captain  Bonneville's  venture  was  a  fortunate  one  compared  with  that 
of  Mr.  Nathaniel  Wyeth  of  Massachusetts,  who  also  crossed  the  continent  in 
1832,  with  the  view  of  establishing  a  trade  on  the  Columbia  River.  Mr.  Wyeth 
brought  with  him  a  small  party  of  men,  all  inexperienced  in  frontier  or  moun- 
tain life,  and  destined  for  a  salmon  fishery  on  the  Columbia.  He  had  reached 
Independence,  Missouri,  the  last  station  before  plunging  into  the  wilderness,  and 
found  himself  somewhat  at  a  loss  how  to  proceed,  until,  at  this  juncture,  he  was 


DECLINE   OP   THE   AMERICAN    FUR    TRADE.  37 

overtaken  by  the  party  of  William  Sublette,  from  St.  Louis  to  the  Rocky  Moun- 
tains, with  whom  he  travelled  in  company  to  the  rendezvous  at  Pierre's  Hole. 

When  Wyeth  arrived  at  the  Columbia  River,  after  tarrying  until  he  had 
acquired  some  mountain  experiences,  he  found  that  his  vessel,  which  was  loaded 
with  merchandise  for  the  Columbia  River  trade,  had  not  arrived.  He  remained 
at  Vancouver  through  the  winter,  the  guest  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company, 
and  either  having  learned  or  surmised  that  his  vessel  was  wrecked,  returned  to 
the  United  States  in  the  following  year.  Not  discouraged,  however,  he  made 
another  venture  in  1834,  despatching  the  ship  May  Dacre,  Captain  Lambert, 
for  the  Columbia  River,  with  another  cargo  of  Indian  goods,  traveling  himself 
overland  with  a  party  of  two  hundred  men,  and  a  considerable  quantity  of  mer- 
chandise which  he  expected  to  sell  to  the  Rocky  Mountain  Fur  Company.  In 
this  expectation  he  was  defeated  by  William  Sublette,  who  had  also  brought  out 
a  large  assortment  of  goods  for  the  Indian  trade,  and  had  sold  out,  supplying 
the  market,  before  Mr.  Wyeth  arrived. 

Wyeth  then  built  a  post,  named  Fort  Hall,  on  Snake  River,  at  the  junction 
of  the  Portneuf,  where  he  stored  his  goods,  and  having  detached  most  of  his 
men  in  trapping  parties,  proceeded  to  the  Columbia  River  to  meet  the  May 
Dacre.  He  reached  the  Columbia  about  the  same  time  with  his  vessel,  and 
proceeded  at  once  to  erect  a  salmon  fishery.  To  forward  this  purpose  he  built 
a  post,  called  Fort  William,  on  the  lower  end  of  Wappatoo  (now  known  as 
Sauvie's)  Island,  near  where  the  Lower  Wallamet  falls  into  the  Columbia.  But 
for  various  reasons  he  found  the  business  on  which  he  had  entered  unprofitable. 
He  had  much  trouble  with  the  Indians,  his  men  were  killed  or  drowned,  so  that 
by  the  time  he  had  half  a  cargo  of  fish,  he  was  ready  to  abandon  the  effort  to 
establish  a  commerce  with  the  Oregon  Indians,  and  was  satisfied  that  no  enter- 
prise less  stupendous  and  powerful  than  that  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company 
could  be  long  sustained  in  that  country. 

Much  complaint  was  subsequently  made  by  Americans,  chiefly  Missionaries, 
of  the  conduct  of  that  company  in  not  allowing  Mr.  Wyeth  to  purchase  beaver 
skins  of  the  Indians,  hut  Mr.  Wyeth  himself  made  no  such  complaint.  Person- 
ally, he  was  treated  with  unvarying  kindness,  courtesy,  and  hospitality.  As  a 
trader,  they  would  not  permit  him  to  undersell  them.  In  truth,  they  no  doubt 
wished  him  away ;  because  competition  would  soon  ruin  the  business  of  either, 
and  they  liked  not  to  have  the  Indians  taught  to  expect  more  than  their  furs 
were  worth,  nor  to  have  the  -Indians'  confidence  in  themselves  destroyed  or 
tampered  with. 

The  Hudson's  Bay  Company  were  hardly  so  unfriendly  to  him  as  the  Ameri- 
can companies ;  since  to  the  former  he  was  enabled  to  sell  his  goods  and  fort  on 
the  Snake  River,  before  he  returned  to  the  United  States,  which  he  did  in  1835. 

The  sale  of  Fort  Hall  to  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  was  a  finishing  blow  at 
the  American  fur  trade  in  the  Rocky  Mountains,  which  after  two  or  three  years 
of  constantly  declining  profits,  was  entirely  abandoned. 

Something  of  the  dangers  incident  to  the  life  of  the  hunter  and  trapper  may 
be  gathered  from  the  following  statements,  made  by  various  parties  who  have 
been  engaged  in  it.     In  1808,  a  Missouri   Company  engaged  in  fur  hunting  on 


38  CAUSES   OF   THE   INDIANS'    HOSTILITY. 

the  three  forks  of  the  river  Missouri,  were  attacked  by  Blackfeet,  losing  twenty- 
seven  men,  and  being  compelled  to  abandon  the  country.  In  1823,  Mr.  Ashley 
was  attacked  on  the  same  river  by  the  Arickaras,  and  had  twenty-six  men 
killed.  About  the  same  time  the  Missouri  company  lost  seven  men,  and  fifteen 
thousand  dollars'  worth  of  merchandise  on  the  Yellowstone  River.  A  few  years 
previous,  Major  Henry  lost,  on  the  Missouri  River,  six  men  and  fifty  horses. 
In  the  sketch  given  of  Smith's  trading  adventures  is  shown  how  uncertain  were 
life  and  property  at  a  later  period.  Of  the  two  hundred  men  whom  Wyeth 
led  into  the  Indian  country,  only  about  forty  were  alive  at  the  end  of  three 
years.  There  was,  indeed,  a  constant  state  of  warfare  between  the  Indians 
and  the  whites,  wherever  the  American  Companies  hunted,  in  which  great 
numbers  of  both  lost  their  lives.  Add  to  this  cause  of  decimation  the  perils 
from  wild  beasts,  famine,  cold,  and  all  manner  of  accidents,  and  the  trapper's 
chance  of  life  was  about  one  in  three. 

Of  the  causes  which  have  produced  the  enmity  of  the  Indians,  there  are 
about  as  many.  It  was  found  to  be  the  case  almost  universally,  that  on  the 
first  visit  of  the  whites  the  natives  were  friendly,  after  their  natural  fears  had 
been  allayed.  But  by  degrees  their  cupidity  was  excited  to  possess  themselves 
of  the  much  coveted  dress,  arms,  and  goods  of  their  visitors.  As  they  had 
little  or  nothing  to  offer  in  exchange,  which  the  white  man  considered  an  equiva- 
lent, they  took  the  only  method  remaining  of  gratifying  their  desire  of  possess- 
ion, and  stole  the  coveted  articles  which  they  could  not  purchase.  When  they 
learned  that  the  white  men  punished  theft,  they  murdered  to  prevent  the  pun- 
ishment. Often,  also,  they  had  wrongs  of  their  own  to  avenge.  White  men 
did  not  always  regard  their  property-rights.  They  were  guilty  of  infamous 
conduct  toward  Indian  women.  What  one  party  of  whites  told  them  was  true, 
another  plainly  contradicted,  leaving  the  lie  between  them.  They  were  over- 
hearing toward  the  Indians  on  their  own  soil,  exciting  to  irrepressible  hostility 
the  natural  jealousy  of  the  inferior  toward  the  superior  race,  where  both  are 
free,  which  characterizes  all  people.  In  short,  the  Indians  were  not  without 
their  grievances ;  and  from  barbarous  ignorance  and  wrong  on  one  side,  and 
intelligent  wrong-doing  on  the  other,  together  with  the  misunderstandings  likely 
to  arise  between  two  entirely  distinct  races,  grew  constantly  a  thousand  abuses, 
which  resulted  in  a  deadly  enmity  between  the  two. 

For  several  reasons  this  evil  existed  to  a  greater  degree  among  the  American 
traders  and  trappers  than  among  the  British.  The  American  trapper  was  not, 
like  the  Hudson's  Bay  employees,  bred  to  the  business.  Oftener  than  any 
other  way  he  was  some  wild  youth  who,  after  an  escapade  in  the  society  of  his 
native  place,  sought  safety  from  reproach  or  punishment  in  the  wilderness.  Or 
he  was  some  disappointed  man  who,  with  feelings  embittered  towards  his  fellows, 
preferred  the  seclusion  of  the  forest  and  mountain.  Many  were  of  a  class  dis- 
reputable everywhere,  who  gladly  embraced  a  life  not  subject  to  social  laws. 
A  few  were  brave,  independent,  and  hardy  spirits,  who  delighted  in  the  hard- 
ships and  wild  adventures  their  calling  made  necessary.  All  these  men,  the 
best  with  the  worst,  were  subject  to  no  will  but  their  own ;  and  all  experience 
goes  to  prove  that  a  life  of  perfect  liberty  is  apt  to  degenerate  into  a  life  of 


HEAVY  LOSS   OP   LIFE.  39 

license.  Even  their  own  lives,  and  those  of  their  companions,  when  it  depended 
upon  their  own  prudence,  were  but  lightly  considered.  The  constant  presence 
of  danger  made  them  reckless.  It  is  easy  to  conceive  how,  under  these  cir- 
cumstances, the  natives  and  the  foreigners  grew  to  hate  each  other,  in  the 
Indian  country ;  especially  after  the  Americans  came  to  the  determination  to 
"  shoot  an  Indian  at  sight,"  unless  he  belonged  to  some  tribe  with  whom  they 
had  intermarried,  after  the  manner  of  the  trappers. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  employees  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  were  many 
of  them  half-breeds  or  full-blooded  Indians  of  the  Iroquois  nation,  towards 
whom  nearly  all  the  tribes  were  kindly  disposed.  Even  the  Frenchmen  who 
trapped  for  this  company  were  well  liked  by  the  Indians  on  account  of  their 
suavity  of  manner,  and  the  ease  with  which  they  adapted  themselves  to  savage 
life.  Besides  most  of  them  had  native  wives  and  half-breed  children,  and  were 
regarded  as  relatives.  They  were  trained  to  the  life  of  a  trapper,  were  subject 
to  the  will  of  the  Company,  and  were  generally  just  and  equitable  in  their  deal- 
ings with  the  Indians,  according  to  that  company's  will,  and  the  dictates  of 
prudence.     Here  was  a  wide  difference. 

Notwithstanding  this,  there  were  many  dangers  to  be  encountered.  The 
hostility  of  some  of  the  tribes  could  never  be  overcome ;  nor  has  it  ever  abated. 
Such  were  the  Crows,  the  Blackfeet,  the  Cheyennes,  the  Apaches,  the  Caman- 
ches.  Only  a  superior  force  could  compel  the  friendly  offices  of  these  tribes 
for  any  white  man,  and  then  their  treachery  was  as  dangerous  as  their  open 
hostility. 

It  happened,  therefore,  that  although  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  lost  com- 
paratively few  men  by  the  hands  of  the  Indians,  they  sometimes  found  them 
implacable  foes  in  common  with  the  American  trappers ;  and  frequently  one 
party  was  very  glad  of  the  others'  assistance.  Altogether,  as  has  before  been 
stated,  the  loss  of  life  was  immense  in  proportion  to  the  number  employed. 

Very  few  of  those  who  had  spent  years  in  the  Rocky  Mountains  ever  returned 
to  the  United  States.  With  their  Indian  wives  and  half-breed  children,  they 
scattered  themselves  throughout  Oregon,  until  when,  a  number  of  years  after 
the  abandonment  of  the  fur  trade,  Congress  donated  large  tracts  of  land  to 
actual  settlers,  they  laid  claim,  each  to  his  selected  portion,  and  became  active 
citizens  of  their  adopted  state. 


A   TRAPPER    AND    PIONEER'S    LIFE. 


CHAPTER    I. 

As  has  been  stated  in  the  Introduction,  Joseph  L.  Meek 
was  a  native  of  Washington  Co.,  Va.  Born  in  the  early 
part  of  the  present  century,  and  brought  up  on  a  planta- 
tion where  the  utmost  liberty  was  accorded  to  the  "young 
massa;"  preferring  out-door  sports  with  the  youthful 
bondsmen  of  his  father,  to  study  with  the  bald-headed 
schoolmaster  who  furnished  him  the  alphabet  on  a  paddle ; 
possessing  an  exhaustless  fund  of  waggish  humor,  united 
to  a  spirit  of  adventure  and  remarkable  personal  strength, 
he  unwittingly  furnished  in  himself  the  very  material  of 
which  the  heroes  of  the  wilderness  were  made.  Virginia, 
"the  mother  of  Presidents,"  has  furnished  many  such  men, 
who,  in  the  early  days  of  the  now  populous  Western  States, 
became  the  hardy  frontiers-men,  or  the  fearless  Indian 
fighters  who  were  the  bone  and  sinew  of  the  land. 

When  young  Joe  was  about  eighteen  years  of  age,  he 
wearied  of  the  monotony  of  plantation  life,  and  jumping 
into  the  wagon  of  a  neighbor  who  was  going  to  Louis- 
ville, Ky.,  started  out  in  life  for  himself.  He  "reckoned 
they  did  not  grieve  for  him  at  home;"  at  which  conclu- 
sion others  besides  Joe  naturally  arrive  on  hearing  of  his 
heedless  disposition,  and  utter  contempt  for  the  ordinary 
and  useful  employments  to  which  other  men  apply  them- 
selves. 


42 


HE    ENLISTS   IN   A   FUR    COMPANY. 


Joe  probably  believed  that  should  his  father  grieve  for 
him,  his  step-mother  would  be  able  to  console  him;  this 
step-mother,  though  a  pious  and  good  woman,  not  being 
one  of  the  lad's  favorites,  as  might  easily  be  conjectured. 
It  was  such  thoughts  as  these  that  kept  up  his  resolution 
to  seek  the  far  west.  In  the  autumn  of  1828  he  arrived 
in  St.  Louis,  and  the  following  spring  he  fell  in  with  Mr. 
Wm.  Sublette,  of  the  Rocky  Mountain  Fur  Company,  who 
was  making  his  annual  visit  to  that  frontier  town  to  pur- 
chase merchandise  for  the  Indian  country,  and  pick  up  re- 
cruits for  the  fur-hunting  service.  To  this  experienced 
leader  he  offered  himself. 


THE   ENLISTMENT. 


u  How  old  are  you  ?"  asked  Sublette. 

"  A  little  past  eighteen." 

"And  you  want  to  go  to  the  Rocky  Mountains?" 

"Yes." 


ON   THE   MARCH CAMP   LIFE.  43 

"You  don't  know  what  you  are  talking  about,  boy. 
You'll  be  killed  before  you  get  half  way  there." 

"  If  I  do,  I  reckon  I  can  die !"  said  Joe,  with  a  flash  of 
his  full  dark  eyes,  and  throwing  back  his  shoulders  to  show 
their  breadth. 

"  Come,"  exclaimed  the  trader,  eyeing  the  youthful  can- 
didate with  admiration,  and  perhaps  a  touch  of  pity  also ; 
"that  is  the  game  spirit.  I  think  you'll  do,  after  alL 
Only  be  prudent,  and  keep  your  wits  about  you." 

"Where  else  should  they  be?"  laughed  Joe,  as  he 
marched  off,  feeling  an  inch  or  two  taller  than  before. 

Then  commenced  the  business  of  preparing  for  the  jour- 
ney— making  acquaintance  with  the  other  recruits — enjoy- 
ing the  novelty  of  owning  an  outfit,  being  initiated  into 
the  mysteries  of  camp  duty  by  the  few  old  hunters  who 
were  to  accompany  the  expedition,  and  learning  some- 
thing of  their  swagger  and  disregard  of  civilized  observ- 
ances. 

On  the  17th  of  March,  1829,  the  company,  numbering 
about  sixty  men,  left  St.  Louis,  and  proceeded  on  horses 
and  mules,  with  pack-horses  for  the  goods,  up  through  the 
state  of  Missouri.  Camp-life  commenced  at  the  start ;  and 
this  being  the  season  of  the  year  when  the  weather  is 
most  disagreeable,  its  romance  rapidly  melted  away  with 
the  snow  and  sleet  which  varied  the  sharp  spring  wind 
and  the  frequent  cold  rains.  The  recruits  went  through 
all  the  little  mishaps  incident  to  the  business  and  to  their 
inexperience,  such  as  involuntary  somersaults  over  the 
heads  of  their  mules,  bloody  noses,  bruises,  dusty  faces, 
bad  colds,  accidents  in  fording  streams, — yet  withal  no 
very  serious  hurts  or  hindrances.  Rough  weather  and  se- 
vere exercise  gave  them  wolfish  appetites,  which  sweet- 
ened the  coarse  camp-fare  and  amateur  cooking. 

Getting  up  at  four  o'clock  of  a  March  morning  to  kindle 


44  A    WARNING    VOICE. 

fires  and  attend  to  the  animals  was  not  the  most  delect- 
able duty  that  our  labor-despising  young  recruit  could 
have  chosen ;  but  if  he  repented  of  the  venture  he  had 
made  nobody  was  the  wiser.  Sleeping  of  stormy  nights 
in  corn-cribs  or  under  sheds,  could  not  be  by  any  stretch 
of  imagination  converted  into  a  highly  romantic  or  heroic 
mode  of  lodging  one's  self.  The  squalid  manner  of  living 
of  the  few  inhabitants  of  Missouri  at  this  period,  gave  a 
forlorn  aspect  to  the  country  which  is  lacking  in  the  wil- 
derness itself; — a  thought  which  sometimes  occurred  to 
Joe  like  a  hope  for  the  future.  Mountain-fare  he  began 
to  think  must  be  better  than  the  boiled  corn  and  pork  of 
the  Missourians.  Antelope  and  buffalo  meat  were  more 
suitable  viands  for  a  hunter  than  coon  and  opossum. 
Thus  those  very  duties  which  seemed  undignified,  and 
those  hardships  without  danger  or  glory,  which  marked 
the  beginning  of  his  career  made  him  ambitious  of  a  more 
free  and  hazardous  life  on  the  plains  and  in  the  moun- 
tains. 

Among  the  recruits  was  a  young  man  not  far  from  Joe's 
own  age,  named  Robert  Newell,  from  Ohio.  One  morn- 
ing, when  the  company  was  encamped  near  Boonville,  the 
two  young  men  were  out  looking  for  their  mules,  when 
they  encountered  an  elderly  woman  returning  from  the 
milking  yard  with  a  gourd  of  milk.  Newell  made  some 
remark  on  the  style  of  vessel  she  carried,  when  she  broke 
out  in  a  sharp  voice, — 

11  Young  chap,  I'll  bet  you  run  off  from  your  mother ! 
Who'll  mend  them  holes  in  the  elbow  of  your  coat? 
You're  a  purty  looking  chap  to  go  to  the  mountains, 
among  them  Injuns !  They'll  hill  you.  You'd  better  go 
back  home!" 

Considering  that  these  frontier  people  knew  what  In- 
dian fighting  was,  this  was  no  doubt  sound  and  disinter- 


LAST    VESTIGE    OF    CIVILIZATION.  45 

ested  advice,  notwithstanding  it  was  given  somewhat 
sharply.  And  so  the  young  men  felt  it  to  be ;  but  it  was 
not  in  the  nature  of  either  of  them  to  turn  back  from  a 
course  because  there  was  danger  in  it.  The  thought  of 
home,  and  somebody  to  mend  their  coats,  was,  however, 
for  the  time  strongly  presented.  But  the  company  moved 
on,  with  undiminished  numbers,  stared  at  by  the  few  in- 
habitants, and  having  their  own  little  adventures,  until 
they  came  to  Independence,  the  last  station  before  com- 
mitting themselves  to  the  wilderness. 

At  this  place,  which  contained  a  dwelling-house,  cotton- 
gin,  and  grocery,  the  camp  tarried  for  a  few  days  to  adjust 
the  packs,  and  prepare  for  a  final  start  across  the  plains. 
On  Sunday  the  settlers  got  together  for  a  shooting-match, 
in  which  some  of  the  travelers  joined,  without  winning 
many  laurels.  Coon-skins,  deer-skins,  and  bees-wax 
changed  hands  freely  among  the  settlers,  whose  skill  with 
the  rifle  was  greater  than  their  hoard  of  silver  dollars. 
This  was  the  last  vestige  of  civilization  which  the  com- 
pany could  hope  to  behold  for  years ;  and  rude  as  it  was, 
yet  won  from  them  many  a  parting  look  as  they  finally 
took  their  way  across  the"  plains  toward  the  Arkansas 
River. 

Often  on  this  part  of  the  march  a  dead  silence  fell  upon 
the  party,  which  remained  unbroken  for  miles  of  the  way. 
Many  no  doubt  were  regretting  homes  by  them  abandoned, 
or  wondering  dreamily  how  many  and  whom  of  that  com- 
pany would  ever  see  the  Missouri  country  again.  Many 
indeed  went  the  way  the  woman  of  the  gourd  had  prophe- 
sied; but  not  the  hero  of  this  story,  nor  his  comrade 
Newell. 

The  route  of  Captain  Sublette  led  across  the  country 
from  near  the  mouth  of  the  Kansas  River  to  the  River  Ar- 
kansas ;  thence  to  the  South  Fork  of  the  Platte ;  thence 


46  CAMP    SURPRISED    BY    INDIANS. 

on  to  the  North  Fork  of  that  River,  to  where  Ft.  Laramie 
now  stands ;  thence  up  the  North  Fork  to  the  Sweetwater, 
and  thence  across  in  a  still  northwesterly  direction  to  the 
head  of  Wind  River. 

The  manner  of  camp-travel  is  now  so  well  known 
through  the  writings  of  Irving,  and  still  more  from  the 
great  numbers  which  have  crossed  the  plains  since  Astoria 
and  Bonneville  were  written,  that  it  would  be  superfluous 
here  to  enter  upon  a  particular  description  of  a  train  on 
that  journey.  A  strict  half-military  discipline  had  to  be 
maintained,  regular  duties  assigned  to  each  person,  pre- 
cautions taken  against  the  loss  of  animals  either  by  stray- 
ing or  Indian  stampeding,  etc.  Some  of  the  men  were 
appointed  as  camp-keepers,  who  had  all  these  thing ;  to 
look  after,  besides  standing  guard.  A  few  were  se- 
lected as  hunters,  and  these  were  free  to  come  and  go,  as 
their  calling  required.  None  but  the  most  experienced 
were  chosen  for  hunters,  on  a  march;  therefore  our  re- 
cruit could  not  aspire  to  that  dignity  yet. 

The  first  adventure  the  company  met  with  worthy  of 
mention  after  leaving  Independence,  was  in  crossing  the 
country  between  the  Arkansas  and  the  Platte.  Here  the 
camp  was  surprised  one  morning  by  a- band  of  Indians  a 
thousand  strong,  that  came  sweeping  down  upon  them  in 
such  warlike  style  that  even  Captain  Sublette  was  fain  to 
believe  it  his  last  battle.  Upon  the  open  prairie  there  is 
no  such  thing  as  flight,  nor  any  cover  under  which  to  con- 
ceal a  party  even  for  a  few  moments.  It  is  always  fight 
or  die,  if  the  assailants  are  in  the  humor  for  war. 

Happily  on  this  occasion  the  band  proved  to  be  more 
peaceably  disposed  than  their  appearance  indicated,  being 
the  warriors  of  several  tribes — the  Sioux,  Arapahoes,  Kio- 
was,  and  Cheyennes,  who  had  been  holding  a  council  to 
consider  probably  what  mischief  they  could  do  to  some 


A   FIRM    FRONT A    PARLEY.  47 

other  tribes.  The  spectacle  they  presented  as  they  came 
at  full  speed  on  horseback,  armed,  painted,  brandishing 
their  weapons,  and  yelling  in  first  rate  Indian  style,  was 
one  which  might  well  strike  with  a  palsy  the  stoutest 
heart  and  arm.  What  were  a  band  of  sixty  men  against 
a  thousand  armed  warriors  in  full  fighting  trim,  with 
spears,  shields,  bows,  battle-axes,  and  not  a  few  guns? 

But  it  is  the  rule  of  the  mountain-men  to  fight — and 
that  there  is  a  chance  for  life  until  the  breath  is  out  of  the 
body;  therefore  Captain  Sublette  had  his  little  force 
drawn  up  in  line  of  battle.  On  came  the  savages,  whoop- 
ing and  swinging  their  weapons  above  their  heads.  Sub- 
lette turned  to  his  men.  "When  you  hear  my  shot,  then 
fire."  Still  they  came  on,  until  within  about  fifty  paces 
of  the  line  of  waiting  men.  Sublette  turned  his  head,  and 
saw  his  command  with  their  guns  all  up  to  their  faces 
ready  to  fire,  then  raised  his  own  gun.  Just  at  this  mo- 
ment the  principal  chief  sprang  off  his  horse  and  laid  his 
weapon  on  the  ground,  making  signs  of  peace.  Then  fol- 
lowed a  talk,  and  after  the  giving  of  a  considerable  pres- 
ent, Sublette  was  allowed  to  depart.  This  he  did  with  all 
dispatch,  the  company  putting  as  much  distance  as  possi- 
ble between  themselves  and  their  visitors  before  making 
their  next  camp.  Considering  the  warlike  character  of 
these  tribes  and  their  superior  numbers,  it  was  as  narrow 
an  escape  on  the  part  of  the  company  as  it  was  an  excep- 
tional freak  of  generosity  on  the  part  of  the  savages  to 
allow  it.  But  Indians  have  all  a  great  respect  for  a  man 
who  shows  no  fear ;  and  it  was  most  probably  the  warlike 
movement  of  Captain  Sublette  and  his  party  which  in- 
spired a  willingness  on  the  part  of  the  chief  to  accept  a 
present,  when  he  had  the  power  to  have  taken  the  whole 
train.  Besides,  according  to  Indian  logic,  the  present 
cost  him  nothing,  and  it  might  cost  him  many  warriors  to 


48  THE    SUMMER   RENDEZVOUS. 

capture  the  train.  Had  there  been  the  least  wavering  on 
Sublette's  part,  or  fear  in  the  countenances  of  his  men,  the 
end  of  the  affair  would  have  been  different.  This  adven- 
ture was  a  grand  initiation  of  the  raw  recruits,  giving 
them  both  an  insight  into  savage  modes  of  attack,  and  an 
opportunity  to  test  their  own  nerve. 

The  company  proceeded  without  accident,  and  arrived, 
about  the  first  of  July,  at  the  rendezvous,  which  was  ap- 
pointed for  this  year  on  the  Popo  Agie,  one  of  the  streams 
which  form  the  head-waters  of  Bighorn  River. 

Now,  indeed,  young  Joe  had  an  opportunity  of  seeing 
something  of  the  life  upon  which  he  had  entered.  As 
customary,  when  the  traveling  partner  arrived  at  rendez- 
vous with  the  year's  merchandise,  there  was  a  meeting  of 
all  the  partners,  if  they  were  within  reach  of  the  appointed 
place.  On  this  occasion  Smith  was  absent  on  his  tour 
through  California  and  Western  Oregon,  as  has  been 
related  in  the  prefatory  chapter.  Jackson,  the  resident 
partner,  and  commander  for  the  previous  year,  was  not 
yet  in;  and  Sublette  had  just  arrived  with  the  goods 
from  St.  Louis. 

All  the  different  hunting  and  trapping  parties  and  In- 
dian allies  were  gathered  together,  so  that  the  camp  con- 
tained several  hundred  men,  with  their  riding  and  pack- 
horses.  Nor  were  Indian  women  and  children  wanting  to 
give  variety  and  an  appearance  of  domesticity  to  the 
scene. 

The  Summer  rendezvous  was  always  chosen  in  some 
valley  where  there  was  grass  for  the  animals,  and  game 
for  the  camp.  The  plains  along  the  Popo  Agie,  besides 
furnishing  these  necessary  bounties,  were  bordered  by  pic- 
turesque mountain  ranges,  whose  naked  bluffs  of  red  sand- 
stone glowed  in  the  morning  and  evening  sun  with  a  mel- 
lowness of  coloring  charming  to  the  eye  of  the  Virginia 


AN   ENCHANTING   PICTURE.  49 

recruit.  The  waving  grass  of  the  plain,  variegated  with 
wild  flowers;  the  clear  summer  heavens  flecked  with 
white  clouds  that  threw  soft  shadows  in  passing ;  the  graz- 
ing animals  scattered  about  the  meadows ;  the  lodges  of 
the  Booshways*  around  which  clustered  the  camp  in 
motley  garb  and  brilliant  coloring ;  gay  laughter,  and  the 
murmur  of  soft  Indian  voices,  all  made  up  a  most  spir- 
ited and  enchanting  picture,  in  which  the  eye  of  an  artist 
could  not  fail  to  delight. 

But  as  the  goods  were  opened  the  scene  grew  livelier. 
All  were  eager  to  purchase,  most  of  the  trapper's  to  the 
full  amount  of  their  year's  wages;  and  some  of  them, 
generally  free  trappers,  went  in  debt  to  the  company  to  a 
very  considerable  amount,  after  spending  the  value  of  a 
year's  labor,  privation,  and  danger,  at  the  rate  of  several 
hundred  dollars  in  a  single  day. 

The  difference  between  a  hired  and  a  free  trapper  was 
greatly  in  favor  of  the  latter.  The  hired  trapper  was 
regularly  indentured,  and  bound  not  only  to  hunt  and 
trap  for  his  employers,  but  also  to  perform  any  duty  re- 
quired of  him  in  camp.  The  Booshway,  or  the  trader,  or 
the  partisan,  (leader  of  the  detachment,)  had  him  under 
his  command,  to  make  him  take  charge  of,  load  and  un- 
load the  horses,  stand  guard,  cook,  hunt  fuel,  or,  in  short, 
do  any  and  every  duty.  In  return  for  this  toilsome  ser- 
vice he  received  an  outfit  of  traps,  arms  and  ammunition, 
horses,  and  whatever  his  service  required.  Besides  his 
outfit,  he  received  no  more  than  three  or  four  hundred 
dollars  a  year  as  wages. 

There  was  also  a  class  of  free  trappers,  who  were  fur- 
nished with  their  outfit  by  the  company  they  trapped  for, 
and  who  were  obliged  to  agree  to  a  certain  stipulated 

*  Leaders  or  chiefs — corrupted  from  the  French  of  Bourgeois,  and  borrowed 
from  the  Canadians. 


50  THE    FREE    TRAPPER'S   INDIAN    WIFE. 

price  for  their  furs  before  the  hunt  commenced.  But  the 
genuine  free  trapper  regarded  himself  as  greatly  the  su- 
perior of  either  of  the  foregoing  classes.  He  had  his  own 
horses  and  accoutrements,  arms  and  ammunition.  He 
took  what  route  he  thought  fit,  hunted  and  trapped  when 
and  where  he  chose ;  traded  with  the  Indians ;  sold  his 
furs  to  whoever  offered  highest  for  them ;  dressed  flaunt- 
ingly,  and  generally  had  an  Indian  wife  and  half-breed 
children.  They  prided  themselves  on  their  hardihood 
and  courage ;  even  on  their  recklessness  and  profligacy. 
Each  claimed  to  own  the  best  horse;  to  have  had  the 
wildest  adventures;  to  have  made  the  most  narrow  es- 
capes ;  to  have  killed  the  greatest  number  of  bears  and  In- 
dians; to  be  the  greatest  favorite  with  the  Indian  belles, 
the  greatest  consumer  of  alcohol,  and  to  have  the  most 
money  to  spend,  i.  e.  the  largest  credit  on  the  books  of 
the  company.  If  his  hearers  did  not  believe  him,  he  was 
ready  to  run  a  race  with  him,  to  beat  him  at  "old  sledge," 
or  to  fight,  if  fighting  was  preferred, — ready  to  prove 
what  he  affirmed  in  any  manner  the  company  pleased. 

If  the  free  trapper  had  a  wife,  she  moved  with  the 
camp  to  which  he  attached  himself,  being  furnished  with 
a  fine  horse,  caparisoned  in  the  gayest  and  costliest  man- 
ner. Her  dress  was  of  the  finest  goods  the  market  af- 
forded, and  was  suitably  ornamented  with  beads,  ribbons, 
fringes,  and  feathers.  Her  rank,  too,  as  a  free  trapper's 
wife,  gave  her  consequence  not  only  in  her  own  eyes,  but 
in  those  of  her  tribe,  and  protected  her  from  that  slavish 
drudgery  to  which  as  the  wife  of  an  Indian  hunter  or  war- 
rior she  would  have  been  subject.  The  only  authority 
which  the  free  trapper  acknowledged  was  that  of  his  In- 
dian spouse,  who  generally  ruled  in  the  lodge,  however 
her  lord  blustered  outside. 

One  of  the  free  trapper's  special  delights  was  to  take  in 


WILD    CAROUSALS.  51 

hand  the  raw  recruits,  to  gorge  their  wonder  with  his 
boastful  tales,  and  to  amuse  himself  with  shocking  his  pu- 
pil's civilized  notions  of  propriety.  Joe  Meek  did  not 
escape  this  sort  of  "breaking  in;"  and  if  it  should  appear 
in  the  course  of  this  narrative  that  he  proved  an  apt 
scholar,  it  will  but  illustrate  a  truth — that  high  spirits  and 
fine  talents  tempt  the  tempter  to  win  them  over  to  his 
ranks.  But  Joe  was  not  won  over  all  at  once.  He  be- 
held the  beautiful  spectacle  of  the  encampment  as  it  has 
been  described,  giving  life  and  enchantment  to  the  sum. 
mer  landscape,  changed  into  a  scene  of  the  wildest  ca- 
rousal, going  from  bad  to"  worse,  until  from  harmless 
noise  and  bluster  it  came  to  fighting  and  loss  of  life.  At 
this  first  rendezvous  he  was  shocked  to  behold  the  revolt- 
ing exhibition  of  four  trappers  playing  at  a  game  of  cards 
with  the  dead  body  of  a  comrade  for  a  card-table !  Such 
was  the  indifference  to  all  the  natural  and  ordinary  emo- 
tions which  these  veterans  of  the  wilderness  cultivated  in 
themselves,  and  inculcated  in  those  who  came  under  their 
influence.  Scenes  like  this  at  first  had  the  effect  to  bring 
feelings  of  home-sickness,  while  it  inspired  by  contrast  a 
sort  of  penitential  and  religious  feeling  also.  According 
to  Meek's  account  of  those  early  days  in  the  mountains, 
he  said  some  secret  prayers,  and  shed  some  secret  tears. 
But  this  did  not  last  long.  The  force  of  example,  and  es- 
pecially the  force  of  ridicule,  is  very  potent  with  the 
young ;  nor  are  we  quite  free  from  their  influence  later  in 
life. 

If  the  gambling,  swearing,  drinking,  and  fighting  at 
first  astonished  and  alarmed  the  unsophisticated  Joe,  he 
found  at  the  same  time  something  to  admire,  and  that  he 
felt  to  be  congenial  with  his  own  disposition,  in  the  fearless- 
ness, the  contempt  of  sordid  gain,  the  hearty  merriment 
and  frolicsome  abandon  of  the  better  portion  of  the  men 


52  ROUTINE    OF    CAMP    LIFE. 

about  him.  A  spirit  of  emulation  arose  in  him  to  become 
as  brave  as  the  bravest,  as  hardy  as  the  hardiest,  and  as 
gay  as  the  gayest,  even  while  his  feelings  still  revolted  at 
many  things  which  his  heroic  models  were  openly  guilty  of. 
If  at  any  time  in  the  future  course  of  this  narrative,  Joe  is 
discovered  to  have  taken  leave  of  his  early  scruples,  the 
reader  will  considerately  remember  the  associations  by 
which  he  was  surrounded  for  years,  until  the  memory  of 
the  pious  teachings  of  his  childhood  was  nearly,  if  not 
quite,  obliterated.  To  "nothing  extenuate,  nor  set  down 
aught  in  malice,"  should  be  the  frame  of  mind  in  which 
both  the  writer  and  reader  of  Joe's  adventures  should 
strive  to  maintain  himself. 

Before  our  hero  is  ushered  upon  the  active  scenes  of  a 
trapper's  life,  it  may  be  well  to  present  to  the  reader  a 
sort  of  guide  to  camp  life,  in  order  that  he  may  be  able 
to  understand  some  of  its  technicalities,  as  they  may  be 
casually  mentioned  hereafter. 

When  the  large  camp  is  on  the  march,  it  has  a  leader, 
generally  one  of  the  Booshways,  who  rides  in  advance,  or 
at  the  head  of  the  column.  Near  him  is  a  led  mule,  chosen 
for  its  qualities  of  speed  and  trustworthiness,  on  which 
are  packed  two  small  trunks  that  balance  each  other  like 
panniers,  and  which  contain  the  company's  books,  papers, 
and  articles  of  agreement  with  the  men.  Then  follow 
the  pack  animals,  each  one  bearing  three  packs — one  on 
each  side,  and  one  on  top — so  nicely  adjusted  as  not  to  slip 
in  traveling.  These  are  in  charge  of  certain  men  called 
camp-keepers,  who  have  each  three  of  these  to  look  after. 
The  trappers  and  hunters  have  two  horses,  or  mules,  one 
to  ride,  and  one  to  pack  their  traps.  If  there  are  women 
and  children  in  the  train,  all  are  mounted.  Where  the 
country  is  safe,  the  caravan  moves  in  single  file,  often 
stretching  out  for  half  or  three-quarters  of  a  mile.     At 


\ 


CAMPING   AT    NIGHT.  53 

the  end  of  the  column  rides  the  second  man,  or  "little 
Booshway,"  as  the  men  call  him ;  usually  a  hired  officer, 
whose  business  it  is  to  look  after  the  order  and  condition 
of  the  whole  camp. 

On  arriving  at  a  suitable  spot  to  make  the  night  camp, 
the  leader  stops,  dismounts  in  the  particular  space  which 
is  to  be  devoted  to  himself  in  its  midst.  The  others,  as 
they  come  up,  form  a  circle  ;  the  "  second  man"  bringing 
up  the  rear,  to  be  sure  all  are  there.  He  then  proceeds 
to  appoint  every  man  a  place  in  the  circle,  and  to  exam- 
ine the  horses'  backs  to  see  if  any  are  sore.  The  horses 
are  then  turned  out,  under  a  guard,  to  graze  ;  but  before 
darkness  comes  on  are  placed  inside  the  ring,  and  pick- 
eted by  a  stake  driven  in  the  earth,  or  with  two  feet 
so  tied  together  as  to  prevent  easy  or  free  locomotion. 
The  men  are  divided  into  messes :  so  many  trappers  and 
so  many  camp-keepers  to  a  mess.  The  business  of  eating 
is  not  a  very  elaborate  one,  where  the  sole  article  of  diet 
is  meat,  either  dried  or  roasted.  By  a  certain  hour  all  is 
quiet  in  camp,  and  only  the  guard  is  awake.  At  times 
during  the  night,  the  leader,  or  the  officer  of  the  guard, 
gives  the  guard  a  challenge — "  all's  well !  "  which  is  an- 
swered by  "  all's  well !  " 

In  the  morning  at  daylight,  or  sometimes  not  till  sun- 
rise, according  to  the  safe  or  dangerous  locality,  the  sec- 
ond man  comes  forth  from  his  lodge  and  cries  in  French, 
u  leve,  leve,  leve,  leve,  leve  !  "  fifteen  or  twenty  times,  which 
is  the  command  to  rise.  In  about  five  minutes  more  he 
cries  out  again,  in  French,  "  leche  lego,  leche  lego ! "  or 
turn  out,  turn  out ;  at  which  command  all  come  out  from 
the  lodges,  and  the  horses  are  turned  loose  to  feed ;  but 
not  before  a  horseman  has  galloped  all  round  the  camp  at 
some  distance,  and  discovered  every  thing  to  be  safe  in 
the  neighborhood.     Again,  when  the  horses  have  been 


54  DIVIDING   THE    GAME. 

sufficiently  fed,  under  the  eye  of  a  guard,  they  are  driven 
up,  the  packs  replaced,  the  train  mounted,  and  once  more 
it  moves  off,  in  the  order  before  mentioned. 

In  a  settled  camp,  as  in  winter,  there  are  other  regula- 
tions. The  leader  and  the  second  man  occupy  the  same 
relative  positions ;  but  other  minor  regulations  are  ob- 
served. The  duty  of  a  trapper,  for  instance,  in  the  trap- 
ping season,  is  only  to  trap,  and  take  care  of  his  own 
horses.  When  he  comes  in  at  night,  he  takes  his  beaver 
to  the  clerk,  and  the  number  is  counted  off,  and  placed  to 
his  credit.  Not  he,  but  the  camp-keepers,  take  off  the 
skins  and  dry  them.  In  the  winter  camp  there  are  six 
persons  to  a  lodge :  four  trappers  and  two  camp-keepers  ; 
therefore  the  trappers  are  well  waited  upon,  their  only 
duty  being  to  hunt,  in  turns,  for  the  camp.  When  a  piece 
of  game  is  brought  in, — a  deer,  an  antelope,  or  buffalo 
meat, — it  is  thrown  down  on  the  heap  which  accumulates 
in  front  of  the  Booshway's  lodge ;  and  the  second  man 
stands  by  and  cuts  it  up,  or  has  it  cut  up  for  him.  The 
first  man  who  chances  to  come  along,  is  ordered  to  stand 
still  and  turn  his  back  to  the  pile  of  game,  while  the 
"  little  Booshway  "  lays  hold  of  a  piece  that  has  been  cut 
off,  and  asks  in  a  loud  voice — "who  will  have  this?" — 
and  the  man  answering  for  him,  says,  "  the  Booshway," 
or  perhaps  "number  six,"  or  "number  twenty" — mean- 
ing certain  messes ;  and  the  number  is  called  to  come  and 
take  their  meat.  In  this  blind  way  the  meat  is  portioned 
off;  strongly  reminding  one  of  the  game  of  "button, 
button,  who  has  the  button  ?  "  In  this  chance  game  of 
the  meat,  the  Booshway  fares  no  better  than  his  men ; 
unless,  in  rare  instances,  the  little  Booshway  should  indi- 
cate to  the  man  who  calls  off,  that  a  certain  choice  piece 
is  designed  for  the  mess  of  the  leader  or  the  second  man. 

A  gun  is  never  allowed  to  be  fired  in  camp  under  any 


> 


SMOKED    MOCCASINS.  55 

provocation,  short  of  an  Indian  raid ;  but  the  guns  are 
frequently  inspected,  to  see  if  they  are  in  order ;  and 
woe  to  the  careless  camp-keeper  who  neglects  this  or  any 
other  duty.  When  the  second  man  comes  around,  and 
finds  a  piece  of  work  imperfectly  done,  whether  it  be 
cleaning  the  firearms,  making  a  hair  rope,  or  a  skin  lodge, 
or  washing  a  horse's  back,  he  does  not  threaten  the 
offender  with  personal  chastisement,  but  calls  up  another 
man  and  asks  him,  "  Can  you  do  this  properly  ?  '' 

"Yes,  sir." 

"  I  will  give  you  ten  dollars  to  do  it ; "  and  the  ten 
dollars  is  set  down  to  the  account  of  the  inefficient  camp- 
keeper.  But  he  does  not  risk  forfeiting  another  ten  dol- 
lars in  the  same  manner. 

In  the  spring,  when  the  camp  breaks  up,  the  skins 
which  have  been  used  all  winter  for  lodges  are  cut  up  to 
make  moccasins :  because  from  their  having  been  thor- 
oughly smoked  by  the  lodge  fires  they  do  not  shrink  in 
wetting,  like  raw  skins.  This  is  an  important  quality  in  a 
moccasin,  as  a  trapper  is  almost  constantly  in  the  water, 
and  should  not  his  moccasins  be  smoked  they  will  close 
upon  his  feet,  in  drying,  like  a  vice.  Sometimes  after 
trapping  all  day,  the  tired  and  soaked  trapper  lies  down 
in  his  blankets  at  night,  still  wet.  But  by-and-by  he  is 
wakened  by  the  pinching  of  his  moccasins,  and  is  obliged 
to  rise  and  seek  the  water  again  to  relieve  himself  of  the 
pain.  For  the  same  reason,  when  spring  comes,  the  trap- 
per is  forced  to  cut  off  the  lower  half  of  his  buckskin 
breeches,  and  piece  them  down  with  blanket  leggins, 
which  he  wears  all  through  the  trapping  season. 

Such  were  a  few  of  the  peculiarities,  and  the  hardships 
also,  of  a  life  in  the  Rocky  Mouutains.  If  the  camp  dis- 
cipline, and  the  dangers  and  hardships  to  which  a  raw  re- 
cruit was  exposed,  failed  to  harden  him  to  the  service  in 


56  A    u  TRIFLING 

one  year,  he  was  rejected  as  a  "  trifling  fellow,"  and  sent 
back  to  the  settlement  the  next  year.  It  was  not  prob- 
able, therefore,  that  the  mountain-man  often  was  detected 
in  complaining  at  his  lot.  If  he  was  miserable,  he  was 
laughed  at ;  and  he  soon  learned  to  laugh  at  his  own  mis- 
eries, as  well  as  to  laugh  back  at  his  comrades. 


( 


CHAPTER    II. 

The  business  of  the  rendezvous  occupied  about  a 
month.  In  this  period  the  men,  Indian  allies,  and  other 
Indian  parties  who  usually  visited  the  camp  at  this  time, 
were  all  supplied  with  goods.  The  remaining  merchandise 
was  adjusted  for  the  convenience  of  the  different  traders 
who  should  be  sent  out  through  all  the  country  traversed 
by  the  company.  Sublette  then  decided  upon  their  routes, 
dividing  up  his  forces  into  camps,  which  took  each  its  ap- 
pointed course,  detaching  as  it  proceeded  small  parties  of 
trappers  to  all  the  hunting  grounds  in  the  neighborhood. 
These  smaller  camps  were  ordered  to  meet  at  certain  times 
and  places,  to  report  progress,  collect  and  cache  their  furs, 
and  "count  noses."  If  certain  parties  failed  to  arrive, 
others  were  sent  out  in  search  for  them. 

This  year,  in  the  absence  of  Smith  and  Jackson,  a  con- 
siderable party  was  dispatched,  under  Milton  Sublette, 
brother  of  the  Captain,  and  two  other  free  trappers  and 
traders,  Frapp  and  Jervais,  to  traverse  the  country  down 
along  the  Bighorn  River.  Captain  Sublette  took  a  large 
party,  among  whom  was  Joe  Meek,  across  the  mountains 
to  trap  on  the  Snake  River,  in  opposition  to  the  Hudson's 
Bay  Company.  The  Rocky  Mountain  Fur  Company  had 
hitherto  avoided  this  country,  except  when  Smith  had 
once  crossed  to  the  head-waters  of  the  Snake  with  a  small 
party  of  five  trappers.  But  Smith  and  Sublette  had 
determined  to  oppose   themselves  to  the   British  traders 


58  THE    LOST    FOUND BEAUTIFUL    SCENERY. 

who  occupied  so  large  an  extent  of  territory  presumed  to 
be  American ;  and  it  had  been  agreed  between  them  to 
meet  this  year  on  Snake  River  on  Sublette's  return  from 
St.  Louis,  and  Smith's  from  his  California  tour.  What 
befel  Smith's  party  before  reaching  the  Columbia,  has 
already  been  related;  also  his  reception  by  the  Hudson's 
Bay  Company,  and  his  departure  from  Vancouver. 

Sublette  led  his  company  up  the  valley  of  the  Wind 
River,  across  the  mountains,  and  on  to  the  very  head-waters 
of  the  Lewis  or  Snake  River.  Here  he  fell  in  with  Jack- 
son, in  the  valley  of  Lewis  Lake,  called  Jackson's  Hole, 
and  remained  on  the  borders  of  this  lake  for  some  time, 
waiting  for  Smith,  whose  non-appearance  began  to  create 
a  good  deal  of  uneasiness.  At  length  runners  were  dis- 
patched in  all  directions  looking  for  the  lost  Booshway. 

The  detachment  to  which  Meek  was  assigned  had  the 
pleasure  and  honor  of  discovering  the  hiding  place  of  the 
missing  partner,  which  was  in  Pierre's  Hole,  a  mountain 
valley  about  thirty  miles  long  and  of  half  that  width, 
which  subsequently  was  much  frequented  by  the  camps  of 
the  various  fur  companies.  He  was  found  trapping  and 
exploring,  in  company  with  four  men  only,  one  of  whom 
was  Black,  who  with  him  escaped  from  the  Umpqua  In- 
dians, as  before  related. 

Notwithstanding  the  excitement  and  elation  attendant 
upon  the  success  of  his  party,  Meek  found  time  to  admire 
the  magnificent  scenery  of  the  valley,  which  is  bounded 
on  two  sides  by  broken  and  picturesque  ranges,  and  over- 
looked by  that  magnificent  group  of  mountains,  called 
the  Three  Tetons,  towering  to  a  height  of  fourteen  thou- 
sand feet.  This  emerald  cup  set  in  its  rim  of  amethystine 
mountains,  was  so  pleasant  a  sight  to  the  mountain-men 
that  camp  was  moved  to  it  without  delay,  where  it  re- 
mained until  some  time  in  September,  recruiting  its  ani- 
mals and  preparing  for  the  fall  hunt. 


REJOICINGS    IN    CAMP.  59 

Here  again  the  trappers  indulged  in  their  noisy  sports 
and  rejoicing,  ostensibly  on  account  of  the  return  of  the 
long-absent  Booshway.  There  was  little  said  of  the  men 
who  had  perished  in  that  unfortunate  expedition.  "Poor 
fellow !  out  of  luck ;  "  was  the  usual  burial  rite  which 
the  memory  of  a  dead  comrade  received.  So  much  and 
no  more.  They  could  -indulge  in  noisy  rejoicings  over  a 
lost  comrade  restored ;  but  the  dead  one  was  not  men- 
tioned. Nor  was  this  apparently  heartless  and  heedless 
manner  so  irrational  or  unfeeling  as  it  seemed.  Every- 
body understood  one  thing  in  the  mountains — that  he  must 
keep  his  life  by  his  own  courage  and  valor,  or  at  the  least 
by  his  own  prudence.  Unseen  dangers  always  lay  in 
wait  for  him.  The  arrow  or  tomahawk  of  the  Indian,  the 
blow  of  the  grizzly  bear,  the  mis-step  on  the  dizzy  or  slip- 
pery height,  the  rush  of  boiling  and  foaming  floods,  freez- 
ing cold,  famine — these  were  the  most  common  forms  of 
peril,  yet  did  not  embrace  even  then  all  the  forms  in  which 
Death  sought  his  victims  in  the  wilderness.  The  avoid- 
ance of  painful  reminders,  such  as  the  loss  of  a  party  of 
men,  was  a  natural  instinct,  involving  also  a  principle  of 
self  defence — since  to  have  weak  hearts  would  be  the 
surest  road  to  defeat  in  the  next  dangerous  encounter. 
To  keep  their  hearts  "big,"  they  must  be  gay,  they  must 
not  remember  the  miserable  fate  of  many  of  their  one-time 
comrades.  Think  of  that,  stern  moralist  and  martinet  in 
propriety !  Your  fur  collar  hangs  in  the  gas-lighted  hall. 
In  your  luxurious  dressing  gown  and  slippers,  by  the 
warmth  of  a  glowing  grate,  you  muse  upon  the  depravity 
of  your  fellow  men.  But  imagine  yourself,  if  you  can,  in 
the  heart  of  an  interminable  wilderness.  Let  the  snow 
be  three  or  four  feet  deep,  game  scarce,  Indians  on  your 
track :  escaped  from  these  dangers,  once  more  beside  a 
camp  fire,  with  a  roast  of  buffalo  meat  on  a  stick  before  it, 


GO  THE    TRAPPERS    PHILOSOPHY. 

and  several  of  your  companions  similarly  escaped,  and 
destined  for  the  same  chances  to-morrow,  around  you.  Do 
you  fancy  you  should  give  much  time  to  lamenting  the  less 
lucky  fellows  who  were  left  behind  frozen,  starved,  or 
scalped?  Not  you.  You  would  be  fortifying  yourself 
against  to-morrow,  when  the  same  terrors  might  lay  in 
wait  for  you.  Jedediah  Smith  was  a  pious  man ;  one  of 
the  few  that  ever  resided  in  the  Rocky  Mountains,  and  led 
a  band  of  reckless  trappers ;  but  he  did  not  turn  back 
to  his  camp  when  he  saw  it  attacked  on  the  Umpqua, 
nor  stop  to  lament  his  murdered  men.  The  law  of  self- 
preservation  is  strong  in  the  wilderness.  "  Keep  up  your 
heart  to-day,  for  to-morrow  you  may  die,"  is  the  motto 
of  the  trapper. 

In  the  conference  which  took  place  between  Smith  and 
Sublette,  the  former  insisted  that  on  account  of  the  kind 
services  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  toward  himself 
and  the  three  other  survivors  of  his  party,  they  should 
withdraw  their  trappers  and  traders  from  the  western  side 
of  the  mountains  for  the  present,  so  as  not  to  have  them 
come  in  conflict  with  those  of  that  company.  To  this 
proposition  Sublette  reluctantly  consented,  and  orders 
were  issued  for  moving  once  more  to  the  east,  before  go- 
ing into  winter  camp,  which  was  appointed  for  the  Wind 
River  Valley. 

In  the  meantime  Joe  Meek  was  sent  out  with  a  party  to 
take  his  first  hunt  for  beaver  as  a  hired  trapper.  The 
detachment  to  which  he  belonged  traveled  down  Pierre's 
fork,  the  stream  which  watered  the  valley  of  ^ierre's  Hole, 
to  its  junction  with  Lewis'  and  Henry's  forks  where  they 
unite  to  form  the  great  Snake  River.  While  trapping  in 
this  locality  the  party  became  aware  of  the  vicinity  of  a 
roving  band  of  Blackfeet,  and  in  consequence,  redoubled 
their  usual  precautions  while  on  the  march. 


"the  devil's  own."  61 

The  Blackfeet  were  the  tribe  most  dreaded  in  the  Rocky 
Mountains,  and  went  by  the  name  of  "Bugs  Boys,"  which 
rendered  into  good  English,  meant  "the  devil's  own." 
They  are  now  so  well  known  that  to  mention  their  charac- 
teristics seems  like  repeating  a  "  twice-told  tale ;  "  but  as 
they  will  appear  so  often  in  this  narrative,  Irving' s  account 
of  them  as  he  had  it  from  Bonneville  when  he  was  fresh 
from  the  mountains,  will,  after  all,  not  be  out  of  place. 
"These  savages,"  he  says,  "are  the  most  dangerous  ban- 
ditti of  the  mountains,  and  the  inveterate  foe  of  the  trap- 
per. They  are  Ishmaelites  of  the  first  order,  always  with 
weapon  in  hand,  ready  for  action.  The  young  braves  of 
the  tribe,  wrho  are  destitute  of  property,  go  to  war  for 
booty ;  to  gain  horses,  and  acquire  the  means  of  setting 
up  a  lodge,  supporting  a  family,  and  entitling  themselves 
to  a  seat  in  the  public  councils.  The  veteran  warriors 
fight  merely  for  the  love  of  the  thing,  and  the  conse- 
quence which  success  gives  them  among  their  people. 
They  are  capital  horsemen,  and  are  generally  well  mounted 
on  short,  stout  horses,  similar  to  the  prairie  ponies,  to  be 
met  with  in  St.  Louis.  When  on  a  war  party,  however, 
they  go  on  foot,  to  enable  them  to  skulk  through  the 
country  with  greater  secrecy ;  to  keep  in  thickets  and  ra- 
vines, and  use  more  adroit  subterfuges  and  stratagems. 
Their  mode  of  warfare  is  entirely  by  ambush,  surprise, 
and  sudden  assaults  in  the  night  time.  If  they  succeed 
in  causing  a  panic,  they  dash  forward  with  headlong  fury ; 
if  the  enemy  is  on  the  alert,  and  shows  no  signs  of  fear, 
they  become  wary  and  deliberate  in  their  movements. 

Some  of  them  are  armed  in  the  primitive  style,  with 
bows  and  arrows ;  the  greater  part  have  American  fusees, 
made  after  the  fashion  of  those  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Com- 
pany. These  they  procure  at  the  trading  post  of  the 
American   Fur   Company,  on  Maria's   River,  where  they 


62         CHARACTERISTICS  OF  THE  BLACKFEET. 

traffic  their  peltries  for  arms,  ammunition,  clothing,  and 
trinkets.  They  are  extremely  fond  of  spirituous  liquors 
and  tobacco,  for  which  nuisances  they  are  ready  to  exchange, 
not  merely  their  guns  and  horses,  but  even  their  wives 
and  daughters.  As  they  are  a  treacherous  race,  and  have 
cherished  a  lurking  hostility  to  the  whites,  ever  since  one 
of  their  tribe  was  killed  by  Mr.  Lewis,  the  associate  of 
General  Clarke,  in  his  exploring  expedition  across  the 
Rocky  Mountains,  the  American  Fur  Company  is  obliged 
constantly  to  keep  at  their  post  a  garrison  of  sixty  or  sev- 
enty men." 

"Under  the  general  name  of  Blackfeet  are  compre- 
hended several  tribes,  such  as  the  Surcies,  the  Peagans, 
the  Blood  Indians,  and  the  Gros  Ventres  of  the  Prairies, 
who  roam  about  the  Southern  branches  of  the  Yellow- 
stone and  Missouri  Rivers,  together  with  some  other  tribes 
further  north.  The  bands  infesting  the  Wind  River 
Mountains,  and  the  country  adjacent,  at  the  time  of  which 
we  are  treating,  were  Gros  Ventres  of  the  Prairies,  which 
are  not  to  be  confounded  with  the  Gros  Ventres  of  the 
Missouri,  who  keep  about  the  lower  part  of  that  river,  and 
are  friendly  to  the  white  men." 

"  This  hostile  band  keeps  about  the  head- waters  of  the 
Missouri,  and  numbers  about  nine  hundred  fighting  men. 
Once  in  the  course  of  two  or  three  years  they  abandon 
their  usual  abodes  and  make  a  visit  to  the  Arapahoes  of 
the  Arkansas.  Their  route  lies  either  through  the  Crow 
country,  and  the  Black  Hills,  or  through  the  lands  of  the 
Nez  Perces,  Flatheads,  Bannacks,  and  Shoshonies.  As 
they  enjoy  their  favorite  state  of  hostility  with  all  these 
tribes,  their  expeditions  are  prone  to  be  conducted  in  the 
most  lawless  and  predatory  style ;  nor  do  they  hesitate  to 
extend  their  maraudings  to  any  party  of  white  men  they 
meet   with,  following   their   trail,  hovering   about   their 


CHARACTERISTICS    OF   THE   BLACKFEET. 


63 


camps,  waylaying  and  dogging  the  caravans  of  the  free 
traders,  and  murdering  the  solitary  trapper.  The  conse- 
quences are  frequent  and  desperate  fights  between  them 
and  the  mountaineers,  in  the  wild  defiles  and  fastnesses  of 
the  Rocky  Mountains."  Such  were  the  Blackfeet  at  the 
period  of  which  we  are  writing ;  nor  has  their  character 
changed  at  this  day,  as  many  of  the  Montana  miners  know 
to  their  cost. 


CHAPTER    III. 

1830.  Sublette's  camp  commenced  moving  back  to  the 
east  side  of  the  Rocky  Mountains  in  October.  Its  course 
was  up  Henry's  fork  of  the  Snake  River,  through  the  North 
Pass  to  Missouri  Lake,  in  which  rises  the  Madison  fork  of 
the  Missouri  River.  The  beaver  were  very  plenty  on 
Henry's  fork,  and  our  young  trapper  had  great  success  in 
making  up  his  packs ;  having  learned  the  art  of  setting 
his  traps  very  readily.  The  manner  in  which  the  trapper 
takes  his  game  is  as  follows: — 

He  has  an  ordinary  steel  trap  weighing  five  pounds,  at- 
tached to  a  chain  five  feet  long,  with  a  swivel  and  ring  at 
the  end,  which  plays  round  what  is  called  the  float,  a  dry 
stick  of  wood,  about  six  feet  long.  The  trapper  wades 
out  into  the  stream,  which  is  shallow,  and  cuts  with  his 
knife  a  bed  for  the  trap,  five  or  six  inches  under  water. 
He  then  takes  the  float  out  the  whole  length  of  the  chain 
in  the  direction  of  the  centre  of  the  stream,  and  drives  it 
into  the  mud,  so  fast  that  the  beaver  cannot  draw  it  out ; 
at  the  same  time  tying  the  other  end  by  a  thong  to  the 
bank.  A  small  stick  or  twig,  dipped  in  musk  or  castor, 
serves  for  bait,  and  is  placed  so  as  to  hang  directly  above 
the  trap,  which  is  now  set.  The  trapper  then  throws  wa- 
ter plentifully  over  the  adjacent  bank  to  conceal  any  foot 
prints  or  scent  by  which  the  beaver  would  be  alarmed, 
and  going  to  some  distance  wades  out  of  the  stream. 

In  setting  a  trap,  several  things  are  to  be  observed  with 
care : — first,  that  the  trap  is  firmly  fixed,  and  the  proper 


WONDERFUL   INSTINCT    OF    THE    BEAVER.  65 

distance  from  the  bank — for  if  the  beaver  can  get  on 
shore  with  the  trap,  he  will  cut  off  his  foot  to  escape :  sec- 
ondly, that  the  float  is  of  dry  wood,  for  should  it  not  be, 
the  little  animal  will  cut  it  off  at  a  stroke,  and  swimming 
with  the  trap  to  the  middle  of  the  dam,  be  drowned  by 
its  weight.  In  the  latter  case,  when  the  hunter  visits  his 
traps  in  the  morning,  he  is  under  the  necessity  of  plung- 
ing into  the  water  and  swimming  out  to  dive  for  the  mis- 
sing trap,  and  his  game.  Should  the  morning  be  frosty 
and  chill,  as  it  very  frequently  is  in  the  mountains,  diving 
for  traps  is  not  the  pleasantest  exercise.  In  placing  the 
bait,  care  must  be  taken  to  fix  it  just  where  the  beaver  in 
reaching  it  will  spring  the  trap.  If  the  bait-stick  be 
placed  high,  the  hind  foot  of  the  beaver  will  be  caught : 
if  low,  his  fore  foot. 

The  manner  in  which  the  beavers  make  their  dam, 
and  construct  their  lodge,  has  long  been  reckoned  among 
the  wonders  of  the  animal  creation;  and  while  some 
observers  have  claimed  for  the  little  creature  more  sa- 
gacity than  it  really  possesses,  its  instinct  is  still  suffi- 
ciently wonderful.  It  is  certainly  true  that  it  knows  how 
to  keep  the  water  of  a  stream  to  a  certain  level,  by  means 
of  an  obstruction ;  and  that  it  cuts  down  trees  for  the  pur- 
pose of  backing  up  the  water  by  a  dam.  It  is  not  true, 
however,  that  it  can  always  fell  a  tree  in  the  direction  re- 
quired for  this  purpose.  The  timber  about  a  beaver  dam 
is  felled  in  all  directions ;  but  as  trees  that  grow  near  the 
water,  generally  lean  towards  it,  the  tree,  when  cut,  takes 
the  proper  direction  by  gravitation  alone.  The  beaver 
then  proceeds  to  cut  up  the  fallen  timber  into  lengths  of 
about  three  feet,  and  to  convey  them  to  the  spot  where 
the  dam  is  to  be  situated,  securing  them  in  their  places 
by  means  of  mud  and,  stones.  The  work  is  commenced 
when  the  water  is  low,  and  carried  on  as  it  rises,  until  it 


06 


BEAVER   DAMS FORMATION    OF    MEADOWS. 


has  attained  the  desired  height.  And  not  only  is  it  made 
of  the  requisite  height  and  strength,  but  its  shape  is  suited 
exactly  to  the  nature  of  the  stream  in  which  it  is  built, 
If  the  water  is  sluggish  the  dam  is  straight ;  if  rapid  and 
turbulent,  the  barrier  is  constructed  of  a  convex  form,  the 
better  to  resist  the  action  of  the  water. 


BEAVER-DAM. 


When  the  beavers  have  once  commenced  a  dam,  its  ex 
tent  and  thickness  are  continually  augmented,  not  only  by 
their  labors,  but  by  accidental  accumulations ;  thus  accom- 
modating itself  to  the  size  of  the  growing  community. 
At  length,  after  a  lapse  of  many  years,  the  water  being 
spread  over  a  considerable  tract,  and  filled  up  by  yearly 
accumulations  of  drift-wood  and  earth,  seeds  take  root 
in  the  new  made  ground,  and  the  old  beaver-dams  be- 
come green  meadows,  or  thickets  of  cotton-wood  and 
willow. 

The  food  on  which  the  beaver  subsists,  is  the  bark  of 
the  young  trees  in  its  neighborhood ;  and  when  laying  up 
a  winter  store,  the  whole  community  join  in  the  labor  of 
selecting,  cutting  up,  and  carrying  the  strips  to  their  store- 


BEAVER   LODGES.  67 

houses  under  water.  They  do  not,  as  some  writers  have 
affirmed,  when  cutting  wood  for  a  dam  strip  off  the  bark 
and  store  it  in  their  lodges  for  winter  consumption ;  but 
only  carry  under  water  the  stick  with  the  bark  on. 

"  The  beaver  has  two  incisors  and  eight  molars  in  each  jaw ;  and  empty  hol- 
lows where  the  canine  teeth  might  be.  The  upper  pair  of  cutting  teeth  extend 
far  into  the  jaw,  with  a  curve  of  rather  more  than  a  semicircle ;  and  the  lower 
pair  of  incisors  form  rather  less  than  a  semicircle.  Sometimes,  one  of  these 
teeth  gets  broken  and  then  the  opposite  tooth  continues  growing  until  it  forms  a 
nearly  complete  circle.  The  chewing  muscle  of  the  beaver  is  strengthened  by 
tendons  in  such  a  way  as  to  give  it  great  power.  But  more  is  needed  to  enable 
the  beaver  to  eat  wood.  The  insalivation  of  the  dry  food  is  provided  for  by  the 
extraordinary  size  of  the  salivary  glands. 

"  Now,  every  part  of  these  instruments  is  of  vital  importance  to  the  beavers. 
The  loss  of  an  incisor  involves  the  formation  of  an  obstructive  circular  tooth ; 
deficiency  of  saliva  renders  the  food  indigestible ;  and  when  old  age  comes  and 
the  enamel  is  worn  down  faster  than  it  is  renewed,  the  beaver  is  not  longer  able 
to  cut  branches  for  its  support.  Old,  feeble  and  poor,  unable  to  borrow,  and 
ashamed  to  beg,  he  steals  cuttings,  and  subjects  himself  to  the  penalty  assigned 
to  theft.  Aged  beavers  are  often  found  dead  with  gashes  in  their  bodies,  show- 
ing that'they  have  been  killed  by  their  mates.  In  the  fall  of  1864,  a  very  aged 
beaver  was  caught  in  one  of  the  dams  of  the  Esconawba  River,  and  this  was  the 
reflection  of  a  great  authority  on  the  occasion,  one  Ah-she-goes,  an  Ojibwa  trap- 
per :  '  Had  he  escaped  the  trap  he  would  have  been  killed  before  the  winter  was 
over,  by  other  beavers,  for  stealing  cuttings.' 

When  the  beavers  are  about  two  or  three  years  old,  their  teeth  are  in  their 
best  condition  for  cutting.  On  the  Upper  Missouri,  they  cut  the  cotton  tree  and 
the  willow  bush ;  around  Hudson's  Bay  and  Lake  Superior,  in  addition  to  the 
willow  they  cut  the  poplar  and  maple,  hemlock,  spruce  and  pine.  The  cutting 
is  round  and  round,  and  deepest  upon  the  side  on  which  they  wish  the  tree  to 
fall.  Indians  and  trappers  have  seen  beavers  outting  trees.  The  felling  of  a 
tree  is  a  family  affair.  No  more  than  a  single  pair  with  two  or  three  young 
ones  are  engaged  at  a  time.  The  adults  take  the  cutting  in  turns,  one  gnawing 
and  the  other  watching;  and  occasionally  a  youngster  trying  his  incisors. 
The  beaver  whilst  gnawing  sits  on  his  plantigrade  hind  legs,  which  keep  him 
conveniently  upright.  When  the  tree  begins  to  crackle  the  beavers  work  cau- 
tiously, and  when  it  crashes  down  they  plunge  into  the  pond,  fearful  lest  the 
noise  should  attract  an  enemy  to  the  spot.  After  the  tree-fall,  comes  the  lopping 
of  the  branches.  A  single  tree  may  be  winter  provision  for  a  family.  Branches 
five  or  six  inches  thick  have  to  be  cut  into  proper  lengths  for  transport,  and  are 
then  taken  home." 

The  lodge  of  a  beaver  is  generally  about  six  feet  in  di- 


68  bachelor's  hall TRAPPING  in  winter. 

ameter,  on  the  inside,  and  about  half  as  high.  They  are 
rounded  or  dome-shaped  on  the  outside,  with  very  thick 
walls,  and  communicate  with  the  land  by  subterranean 
passages,  below  the  depth  at  which  the  water  freezes  in 
winter.  Each  lodge  is  made  to  accommodate  several  in- 
mates, who  have  their  beds  ranged  round  the  walls,  much 
as  the  Indian  does  in  his  tent.  They  are  very  cleanly, 
too,  and  after  eating,  carry  out  the  sticks  that  have  been 
stripped,  and  either  use  them  in  repairing  their  dam,  or 
throw  them  into  the  stream  below. 

During  the  summer  months  the  beavers  abandon  their 
lodges,  and  disport  themselves  about  the  streams, "some- 
times going  on  long  journeys ;  or  if  any  remain  at  home, 
they  are  the  mothers  of  young  families.  About  the  last 
of  August  the  community  returns  to  its  home,  and  begins 
preparations  for  the  domestic  cares  of  the  long  winter 
months. 

An  exception  to  this  rule  is  that  of  certain  individuals, 
who  have  no  families,  make  no  dam,  and  never  live  in 
lodges,  but  burrow  in  subterranean  tunnels.  They  are  al- 
ways found  to  be  males,  whom  the  French  trappers  call 
"les  parasseux,"  or  idlers;  and  the  American  trappers, 
"bachelors."  Several  of  them  are  sometimes  found  in 
one  abode,  which  the  trappers  facetiously  denominate 
"bachelor's  hall."  Being  taken  with  less  difficulty  than 
the  more  domestic  beaver,  the  trapper  is  always  glad  to 
come  upon  their  habitations. 

The  trapping  season  is  usually  in  the  spring  and  au- 
tumn. But  should  the  hunters  find  it  necessary  to  con- 
tinue their  work  in  winter,  they  capture  the  beaver  by 
sounding  on  the  ice  until  an  aperture  is  discovered,  when 
the  ice  is  cut  away  and  the  opening  closed  up.  Returning 
to  the  bank,  they  search  for  the  subterranean  passage,  trac- 
ing its  connection  with  the  lodge ;  and  by  patient  watching 


"UP    TO    TRAP    JUBST    BATTLE    WITH   BLACKFEET.         69 

succeed  in  catching  the  beaver  on  some  of  its  journeys 
between  the  water  and  the  land.  This,  however,  is  not 
often  resorted  to  when  the  hunt  in  the  fall  has  been  suc- 
cessful ;  or  when  not  urged  by  famine  to  take  the  beaver 
for  food. 

"Occasionally  it  happens,"  says  Captain  Bonneville, 
"  that  several  members  of  a  beaver  family  are  trapped  in 
succession.  The  survivors  then  become  extremely  shy, 
and  can  scarcely  be  "brought  to  medicine,"  to  use  the 
trappers'  phrase  for  "taking  the  bait."  In  such  case,  the 
trapper  gives  up  the  use  of  the  bait,  and  conceals  his  traps 
in  the  usual  paths  and  crossing  places  of  the  household. 
The  beaver  being  now  completely  "up  to  trap,"  ap- 
proaches them  cautiously,  and  springs  them,  ingeniously, 
with  a  stick.  At  other  times,  he  turns  the  traps  bottom 
upwards,  by  the  same  means,  and  occasionally  even  drags 
them  to  the  barrier,  and  conceals  them  in  the  mud.  The 
trapper  now  gives  up  the  contest  of  ingenuity,  and  shoul- 
dering his  traps,  marches  ofT,  admitting  that  he  is  not  yet 
"up  to  beaver." 

Before  the  camp  moved  from  the  forks  of  the  Snake 
River,  the  haunting  Blackfeet  made  their  appearance 
openly.  It  was  here  that  Meek  had  his  first  battle  with 
that  nation,  with  whom  he  subsequently  had  many  a  sav* 
age  contest.  They  attacked  the  camp  early  in  the  morn- 
ing, just  as  the  call  to  turn  out  had  sounded.  But  they 
had  miscalculated  their  opportunity :  the  design  having  evi- 
dently been  to  stampede  the  horses  and  mules,  at  the  hour 
and  moment  of  their  being  turned  loose  to  graze.  They 
had  been  too  hasty  by  a  few  minutes,  so  that  when  they 
charged  on  the  camp  pell-mell,  firing  a  hundred  guns  at 
once,  to  frighten  both  horses  and  men,  it  happened  that 
only  a  few  of  the  animals  had  been  turned  out,  and  they 
had  not  yet  got  far  off.  The  noise  of  the  charge  only 
turned  them  back  to  camp. 


70  ON  GUARD THE  TRAPPER'S  RUSE. 

In  an  instant's  time,  Fitzpatrick  was  mounted,  and  com- 
manding the  men  to  follow,  he  galloped  at  headlong 
speed  round  and  round  the  camp,  to  drive  back  such  of  the 
horses  as  were  straying,  or  had  been  frightened  from  their 
pickets.  In  this  race,  two  horses  were  shot  under  him; 
but  he  escaped,  and  the  camp-horses  were  saved.  The 
battle  now  was  to  punish  the  thieves.  They  took  their 
position,  as  usual  with  Indian  fighters,  in  a  narrow  ravine; 
from  whence  the  camp  was  forced  to  dislodge  them,  at  a 
great  disadvantage.  This  they  did  do,  at  last,  after  six 
hours  of  hard  fighting,  in  which  a  few  men  were  wounded, 
but  none  killed.  The  thieves  skulked  off,  through  the 
canyon,  when  they  found  themselves  defeated,  and  were 
seen  no  more  until  the  camp  came  to  the  woods  which 
cover  the  western  slope  of  the  Rocky  Mountains. 

But  as  the  camp  moved  eastward,  or  rather  in  a  north- 
easterly direction,  through  the  pine  forests  between  Pier- 
re's Hole  and  the  head-waters  of  the  Missouri,  it  was  con- 
tinually harrassed  by  Blackfeet,  and  required  a  strong 
guard  at  night,  when  these  marauders  delighted  to  make 
an  attack.  The  weather  by  this  time  was  very  cold  in 
the  mountains,  and  chilled  the  marrow  of  our  young  Vir- 
ginian. The  travel  was  hard,  too,  and  the  recruits  pretty 
well  worn  out. 

One  cold  night,  Meek  was  put  on  guard  on  the  further 
side  of  the  camp,  with  a  veteran  named  Reese.  But 
neither  the  veteran  nor  the  youngster  could  resist  the  ap- 
proaches of  "  tired  Nature's  sweet  restorer,"  and  went  to 
sleep  at  their  post  of  duty.  When,  during  the  night, 
Sublette  came  out  of  his  tent  and  gave  the  challenge — 
"  All's  well !  "  there  was  no  reply.  To  quote  Meek's  own 
language,  "  Sublette  came  round  the  horse-pen  swearing 
and  snorting.  He  was  powerful  mad.  Before  he  got  to 
where  Reese  was,  he  made  so  much  noise  that  he  waked 


CLIMBING    TWO    TREES.  71 

him ;  and  Reese,  in  a  loud  whisper,  called  to  him,  '  Down, 
Billy !  Indians ! '  Sublette  got  down  on  his  belly  mighty 
quick.     '  Whar  ?  whar  ? '  he  asked. 

"  '  They  were  right  there  when  you  hollered  so,'  said 
Reese. 

"  '  Where  is  Meek  ? '  whispered  Sublette. 

"  '  He  is  trying  to  shoot  one,'  answered  Reese,  still  in  a 
whisper. 

"  Reese  then  crawled  over  to  whar  I  war,  and  told  me 
what  had  been  said,  and  informed  me  what  to  do.  In  a 
few  minutes  I  crept  cautiously  over  to  Reese's  post,  when 
Sublette  asked  me  how  many  Indians  had  been  thar,  and 
I  told  him  I  couldn't  make  out  their  number.  In  the 
morning  a  pair  of  Indian  moccasins  war  found  whar  Reese 
saw  the  Indians,  which  I  had  taken  care  to  leave  there ; 
and  thus  confirmed,  our  story  got  us  the  credit  of  vigi- 
lance, instead  of  our  receiving  our  just  dues  for  neglect 
of  duty." 

It  was  sometime  during  the  fall  hunt  in  the  Pine  Woods, 
on  the  west  side  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  that  Meek  had 
one  of  his  earliest  adventures  with  a  bear.  Two  com- 
rades, Craig  and  Nelson,  and  himself,  while  out  trapping, 
left  their  horses,  and  traveled  up  a  creek  on  foot,  in  search 
of  beaver.  They  had  not  proceeded  any  great  distance, 
before  they  came  suddenly  face  to  face  with  a  red  bear ; 
so  suddenly,  indeed,  that  the  men  made  a  spring  for  the 
nearest  trees.  Craig  and  Meek  ascended  a  large  pine, 
which  chanced  to  be  nearest,  and  having  many  limbs,  was 
easy  to  climb.  Nelson  happened  to  take  to  one  of  two 
small  trees  that  grew  close  together ;  and  the  bear,  fixing 
upon  him  for  a  victim,  undertook  to  climb  after  him. 
With  his  back  against  one  of  these  small  trees,  and  his 
feet  against  the  other,  his  bearship  succeeded  in  reaching 
a  point  not  far  below  Nelson's  perch,   when  the  trees 


72  A   DISAPPOINTED    BEAR. 

opened  with  his  weight,  and  down  he  went,  with  a  shock 
that  fairly  shook  the  ground.  But  this  bad  luck  only 
seemed  to  infuriate  the  beast,  and  up  he  went  again,  with 
the  same  result,  each  time  almost  reaching  his  enemy. 
With  the  second  tumble  he  was  not  the  least  discouraged ; 
but  started  up  the  third  time,  only  to  be  dashed  once 
more  to  the  ground  when  he  had  attained  a  certain  height. 
At  the  third  fall,  however,  he  became  thoroughly  dis- 
gusted with  his  want  of  success,  and  turned  and  ran  at 
full  speed  into  the  woods. 

"  Then,"  says  Meek,  "  Craig  began  to  sing,  and  I  began 
to  laugh  ;  but  Nelson  took  to  swearing.  '  0  yes,  you  can 
laugh  and  sing  now,'  says  Nelson;  'but  you  war  quiet 
enough  when  the  bear  was  around.'  '  Why,  Nelson,'  I 
answered,  '  you  wouldn't  have  us  noisy  before  that  dis- 
tinguished guest  of  yours?'  But  Nelson  damned  the 
wild  beast ;  and  Craig  and  I  laughed,  and  said  he  didn't 
seem  wild  a  bit.  That's  the  way  we  hector  each  other  in 
the  mountains.  If  a  man  gets  into  trouble  he  is  only 
laughed  at :  'let  him  keep  out ;  let  him  have  better  luck/ 
is  what  we  say." 

The  country  traversed  by  Sublette  in  the  fall  of  1829, 
was  unknown  at  that  period,  even  to  the  fur  companies, 
they  having  kept  either  farther  to  the  south  or  to  the 
north.  Few,  if  any,  white  men  had  passed  through  it 
since  Lewis  and  Clarke  discovered  the  head-waters  of  the 
Missouri  and  the  Snake  Rivers,  which  flow  from  the  oppo- 
site sides  of  the  same  mountain  peaks.  Even  the  toils 
and  hardships  of  passing  over  mountains  at  this  season  of 
the  year,  did  not  deprive  the  trapper  of  the  enjoyment 
of  the  magnificent  scenery  the  region  afforded.  Splendid 
views,  however,  could  not  long  beguile  men  who  had 
little  to  eat,  and  who  had  yet  a  long  journey  to  accom- 


ALONE    IN    THE    MOUNTAINS.  73 

plish  in  cold,  and  surrounded  by  dangers,  before  reaching 
the  wintering  ground. 

In  November  the  camp  left  Missouri  Lake  on  the  east 
side  of  the  mountains,  and  crossed  over,  still  northeasterly, 
on  to  the  Gallatin  fork  of  the  Missouri  River,  passing  over 
a  very  rough  and  broken  country.  They  were,  in  fact, 
still  in  the  midst  of  mountains,  being  spurs  of  the  great 
Rocky  range,  and  equally  high  and  rugged..  A  partic- 
ularly high  mountain  lay  between  them  and  the  main 
Yellowstone  River.  This  they  had  just  crossed,  with 
great  fatigue  and  difficulty,  and  were  resting  the  camp 
and  horses  for  a  few  days  on  the  river's  bank,  when  the 
Blackfeet  once  more  attacked  them  in  considerable  num- 
bers. Two  men  were  killed  in  this  fight,  and  the  camp 
thrown  into  confusion  by  the  suddenness  of  the  alarm. 
Capt.  Sublette,  however,  got  off,  with  most  of  his  men, 
still  pursued  by  the  Indians. 

Not  so  our  Joe,  who  this  time  was  not  in  luck,  but  was 
cut  off  from  camp,  alone,  and  had  to  flee  to  the  high 
mountains  overlooking  the  Yellowstone.  Here  was  a  sit- 
uation for  a  nineteen-year-old  raw  recruit !  Knowing  that 
the  Blackfeet  were  on  the  trail  of  the  camp,  it  was  death 
to  proceed  in  that  direction.  Some  other  route  must  be 
taken  to  come  up  with  them ;  the  country  was  entirely 
unknown  to  him  ;  the  cold  severe  ;  his  mule,  blanket,  and 
gun,  his  only  earthly  possessions.  On  the  latter  he  de- 
pended for  food,  but  game  was  scarce ;  and  besides,  he 
thought  the  sound  of  his  gun  would  frighten  himself,  so 
alone  in  the  wilderness,  swarming  with  stealthy  foes. 

Hiding  his  mule  in  a  thicket,  he  ascended  to  the  moun- 
tain top  to  take  a  view  of  the  country,  and  decide  upon 
his  course.  And  what  a  scene  was  that  for  the  miser- 
able boy,  whose  chance  of  meeting  with  his  comrades 
again  was  small  indeed !     At  his  feet  rolled  the  Yellow- 


*i  k  A   MISERABLE    NIGHT. 

stone  River,  coursing  away  through  the  great  plain  to  the 
eastward.  To  the  north  his  eye  follows  the  windings  of 
the  Missouri,  as  upon  a  map,  but  playing  at  hide-and-seek 
in  amongst  the  mountains.  Looking  back,  he  saw  the 
River  Snake  stretching  its  serpentine  length  through  lava 
plains,  far  away,  to  its  junction  with  the  Columbia.  To 
the  north,  and  to  the  south,  one  white  mountain  rose 
above  another  as  far  as  the  eye  could  reach.  What  a 
mighty  and  magnificent  world  it  seemed,  to  be  alone  in  ! 
Poor  Joe  succumbed  to  the  influence  of  the  thought,  and 
wept. 

Having  indulged  in  this  sole  remaining  luxury  of  life, 
Joe  picked  up  his  resolution,  and  decided  upon  his  course. 
To  the  southeast  lay  the  Crow  country,  a  land  of  plenty, 
—  as  the  mountain-man  regards  plenty, — and  there  he 
could  at  least  live  ;  provided  the  Crows  permitted  him  to 
do  so.  Besides,  he  had  some  hopes  of  falling  in  with  one 
of  the  camps,  by  taking  that  course. 

Descending  the  mountain  to  the  hiding-place  of  his 
mule,  by  which  time  it  was  dark  night,  hungry  and  freez- 
ing, Joe  still  could  not  light  a  fire,  for  fear  of  revealing  his 
whereabouts  to  the  Indians ;  nor  could  he  remain  to  per- 
ish with  cold.  Travel  he  must,  and  travel  he  did,  going 
he  scarcely  knew  whither.  Looking  back  upon  the  terrors 
and  discomforts  of  that  night,  the  veteran  mountaineer 
yet  regards  it  as  about  the  most  miserable  one  of  his 
life.  When  day  at  length  broke,  he  had  made,  as  well  as 
he  cotild  estimate  the  distance,  about  thirty  miles.  Trav- 
eling on  toward  the  southeast,  he  had  crossed  the  Yellow- 
stone River,  and  still  among  the  mountains,  was  obliged 
to  abandon  his  mule  and  accoutrements,  retaining  only 
one  blanket  and  his  gun.  Neither  the  mule  nor  himself 
had  broken  fast  in  the  last  two  days.  Keeping  a  south- 
erly course  for  twenty  miles  more,   over  a  rough  and 


AWFUL   SOLITUDE. A    SINGULAR   DISCOVERY.  75 

elevated  country,  he  came,  on  the  evening  of  the  third 
day,  upon  a  band  of  mountain  sheep.  With  what  eager- 
ness did  he  hasten  to  kill,  cook,  and  eat !  Three  days  of 
fasting  was,  for  a  novice,  quite  sufficient  to  provide  him 
with  an  appetite. 

Having  eaten  voraciously,  and  being  quite  overcome 
with  fatigue,  Joe  fell  asleep  in  his  blanket,  and  slumbered 
quite  deeply  until  morning.  With  the  morning  came 
biting  blasts  from  the  north,  that  made  motion  necessary 
if  not  pleasant.  Refreshed  by  sleep  and  food,  our  trav- 
eler hastened  on  upon  his  solitary  way,  taking  with  him 
what  sheep-meat  he  could  carry,  traversing  the  same 
rough  and  mountainous  country  as  before.  No  incidents 
nor  alarms  varied  the  horrible  and  monotonous  solitude 
of  the  wilderness.  The  very  absence  of  anything  to 
alarm  was  awful ;  for  the  bravest  man  is  wretchedly  nerv- 
ous in  the  solitary  presence  of  sublime  Nature.  Even 
the  veteran  hunter  of  the  mountains  can  never  entirely 
divest  himself  of  this  feeling  of  awe,  when  his  single  soul 
comes  face  to  face  with  God's  wonderful  and  beautiful 
handiwork. 

At  the  close  of  the  fourth  day,  Joe  made  his  lonely 
camp  in  a  deep  defile  of  the  mountains,  where  a  little  fire 
and  some  roasted  mutton  again  comforted  his  inner  and 
outer  man,  and  another  night's  sleep  still  farther  refreshed 
his  wearied  frame.  On  the  following  morning,  a  very 
bleak  and  windy  one,  having  breakfasted  on  his  remain- 
ing piece  of  mutton,  being  desirous  to  learn  something  of 
the  progress  he  had  made,  he  ascended  a  low  mountain  in 
the  neighborhood  of  his  camp — and  behold !  the  whole 
country  beyond  was  smoking  with  the  vapor  from  boiling 
springs,  and  burning  with  gasses,  issuing  from  small  cra- 
ters, each  of  which  was  emitting  a  sharp  whistling  sound. 

When  the  first  surprise  of  this  astonishing  scene  had 


76  A    HELL    ON    EARTH. 

passed,  Joe  began  to  admire  its  effect  in  an  artistic  point 
of  view.  The  morning  being  clear,  with  a  sharp  frost,  he 
thought  himself  reminded  of  the  city  of  Pittsburg,  as  he 
had  beheld  it  on  a  winter  morning,  a  couple  of  years  be- 
fore. This,  however,  related  only  to  the  rising  smoke  and 
vapor  ;  for  the  extent  of  the  volcanic  region  was  immense, 
reaching  far  out  of  sight.  The  general  face  of  the  coun- 
try was  smooth  and  rolling,  being  a  level  plain,  dotted 
with  cone-shaped  mounds.  On  the  summits  of  these 
mounds  were  small  craters  from  four  to  eight  feet  in  di- 
ameter. Interspersed  among  these,  on  the  level  plain, 
were  larger  craters,  some  of  them  from  four  to  six  miles 
across.  Out  of  these  craters  issued  blue  flames  and  molten 
brimstone. 

For  some  minutes  Joe  gazed  and  wondered.  Curious 
thoughts  came  into  his  head,  about  hell  and  the  day  of 
doom.  With  that  natural  tendency  to  reckless  gayety 
and  humorous  absurdities  which  some  temperaments  are 
sensible  of  in  times  of  great  excitement,  he  began  to  solilo- 
quize. Said  he,  to  himself,  "I  have  been  told  the  sun 
would  be  blown  out,  and  the  earth  burnt  up.  If  this  in- 
fernal wind  keeps  up,  I  shouldn't  be  surprised  if  the  sun 
war  blown  out.  If  the  earth  is  not  burning  up  over  thar, 
then  it  is  that  place  the  old  Methodist  preacher  used  to 
threaten  me  with.  Any  way  it  suits  me  to  go  and  see 
what  it's  like." 

On  descending  to  the  plain  described,  the  earth  was 
found  to  have  a  hollow  sound,  and  seemed  threatening  to 
break  through.  But  Joe  found  the  warmth  of  the  place 
most  delightful,  after  the  freezing  cold  of  the  mountains, 
and  remarked  to  himself  again,  that  "if  it  war  hell,  it  war 
a  more  agreeable  climate  than  he  had  been  in  for  some 
time." 

He  had  thought  the  country  entirely  desolate,  as  not  a 


"OLD   JOE  " — A   JOYFUL   RECOGNITION.  77' 

living  creature  had  been  seen  in  the  vicinity ;  but  while 
he  stood  gazing  about  him  in  curious  amazement,  he  was 
startled  by  the  report  of  two  guns,  followed  by  the  Indian 
yell.  While  making  rapid  preparations  for  defence  and 
flight,  if  either  or  both  should  be  necessary,  a  familiar 
voice  greeted  him  with  the  exclamation,  "It  is  old  Joe! " 
When  the  adjective  "old  "is  applied  to  one  of  Meek's 
age  at  that  time,  it  is  generally  understood  to  be  a  term 
of  endearment.  "  My  feelings  you  may  imagine,"  says  the 
"old  Uncle  Joe"  of  the  present  time,  in  recalling  the 
adventure. 

Being  joined  by  these  two  associates,  who  had  been  look- 
ing for  him,  our  traveler,  no  longer  simply  a  raw  recruit, 
but  a  hero  of  wonderful  adventures,  as  well  as  the  rest  of 
the  men,  proceeded  with  them  to  camp,  which  they  over- 
took the  third  day,  attempting  to  cross  the  high  moun- 
tains between  the  Yellowstone  and  the  Bighorn  Rivers. 
If  Meek  had  seen  hard  times  in  the  mountains  alone,  he 
did  not  find  them  much  improved  in  camp.  The  snow 
was  so  deep  that  the  men  had  to  keep  in  advance,  and 
break  the  road  for  the  animals ;  and  to  make  their  condi- 
tion still  more  trying,  there  were  no  provisions  in  camp, 
nor  any  prospect  of  plenty,  for  men  or  animals,  until  they 
should  reach  the  buffalo  country  beyond  the  mountains. 

During  this  scarcity  of  provisions,  some  of  those  amus- 
ing incidents  took  place  with  which  the  mountaineer  will 
contrive  to  lighten  his  own  and  his  comrades'  spirits,  even 
in  periods  of  the  greatest  suffering.  One  which  we  have 
permission  to  relate,  has  reference  to  what  Joe  Meek  calls 
the  "meanest  act  of  his  life." 

While  the  men  were  starving,  a  negro  boy,  belonging  to 
Jedediah  Smith,  by  some  means  was  so  fortunate  as  to 
have  caught  a  porcupine,  which  he  was  roasting  before  the 
fire.     Happening  to  turn  his  back  for  a  moment,  to  observe 


78  CRAIG  7S  RABBIT.      • 

something  in  camp,  Meek  and  Reese  snatched  the  tempt- 
ing viand  and  made  off  with  it,  before  the  darkey  discov- 
ered his  loss.  But  when  it  was  discovered,  what  a  wail 
went  up  for  the  embezzled  porcupine  !  Suspicion  fixed 
upon  the  guilty  parties,  but  as  no  one  would  'peach  on 
white  men  to  save  a  "nigger's"  rights,  the  poor,  disap- 
pointed boy  could  do  nothing  but  lament  in  vain,  to  the 
great  amusement  of  the  men,  who  upon  the  principle  that 
"misery  loves  company,"  rather  chuckled  over  than  con- 
demned Meek's  "mean  act." 

There  was  a  sequel,  however,  to  this  little  story.  So 
much  did  the  negro  dwell  upon  the  event,  and  the  heart- 
lessness  of  the  men  towards  him,  that  in  the  following 
summer,  when  Smith  was  in  St.  Louis,  he  gave  the  boy  his 
freedom  and  two  hundred  dollars,  and  left  him  in  that  city; 
so  that  it  became  a  saying  in  the  mountains,  that  "the  nig- 
ger got  his  freedom  for  a  porcupine." 

During  this  same  march,  a  similar  joke  was  played  upon 
one  of  the  men  named  Craig.  He  had  caught  a  rabbit 
and  put  it  up  to  roast  before  the  fire — a  tempting  looking 
morsel  to  starving  mountaineers.  Some  of  his  associates 
determined  to  see  how  it  tasted,  and  Craig  was  told  that 
the  Booshways  wished  to  speak  with  him  at  their  lodge. 
While  he  obeyed  this  supposed  command,  the  rabbit  was 
spirited  away,  never  more  to  be  seen  by  mortal  man. 
When  Craig  returned  to  the  camp-fire,  and  beheld  the 
place  vacant  where  a  rabbit  so  late  was  nicely  roasting,  his 
passion  knew  no  bounds,  and  he  declared  his  intention  of 
cutting  it  out  of  the  stomach  that  contained  it.  But  as 
finding  the  identical  stomach  which  contained  it  involved 
the  cutting  open  of  many  that  probably  did  not,  in  the 
search,  he  was  fain  to  relinquish  that  mode  of  vengeance, 
together  with  his  hopes  of  a  supper.  As  Craig  is  still  liv- 
ing, and  is  tormented  by  the  belief  that  he  knows  the  man 


WHAT  THE  SCOUT   SAW.  79 

who  stole  his  rabbit,  Mr.  Meek  takes  this  opportunity  of 
assuring  him,  upon  the  word  of  a  gentleman,  that  he  is 
not  the  man. 

While  on  the  march  over  these  mountains,  owing  to  the 
depth  of  the  snow,  the  company  lost  a  hundred  head  of 
horses  and  mules,  which  sank  in  the  yet  unfrozen  drifts, 
and  could  not  be  extricated.  In  despair  at  their  situation, 
Jedediah  Smith  one  day  sent  a  man  named  Harris  to  the 
top  of  a  high  peak  to  take  a  view  of  the  country,  and  ascer- 
tain their  position.  After  a  toilsome  scramble  the  scout 
returned. 

"  Well,  what  did  you  see,  Harris?"  asked  Smith  anx- 
iously. N 

"  I  saw  the  city  of  St.  Louis,  and  one  fellow  taking  a 
drink !  "  replied  Harris ;  prefacing  the  assertion  with  a 
shocking  oath. 

Smith  asked  no  more  questions.  He  understood  by  the 
man's  answer  that  he  had  made  no  pleasing  discoveries ; 
and  knew  that  they  had  still  a  weary  way  before  them  to 
reach  the  plains  below.  Besides,  Smith  was  a  religious 
man,  and  the  coarse  profanity  of  the  mountaineers  was 
very  distasteful  to  him.  "  A  very  mild  man,  and  a  christ- 
ian ;  and  there  were  very  few  of  them  in  the  mountains, " 
is  the  account  given  of  him  by  the  mountaineers  them- 
selves. 

The  camp  finally  arrived  without  loss  of  life,  except  to 
the  animals,  on  the  plains  of  the  Bighorn  River,  and  came 
upon  the  waters  of  the  Stinking  Fork,  a  branch  of  this 
river,  which  derives  its  unfortunate  appellation  from  the 
fact  that  it  flows  through  a  volcanic,  tract  similar  to  the 
one  discovered  by  Meek  on  the  Yellowstone  plains.  This 
place  afforded  as  much  food  for  wonder  to  the  whole  camp, 
as  the  former  one  had  to  Joe ;  and  the  men  unanimously 
pronounced  it  the  "back  door  to  that  country  which  divines 


80  AN  ALARM CROW  WAR  PARTY. 

preach  about."  As  this  volcanic  district  had  previously- 
been  seen  by  one  of  Lewis  and  Clarke's  men,  named  Col- 
ter, while  on  a  solitary  hunt,  and  by  him  also  denominated 
"  hell,"  there  must  certainly  have  been  something  very 
suggestive  in  its  appearance. 

If  the  mountains  had  proven  barren,  and  inhospitably 
cold,  this  hot  and  sulphurous  country  offered  no  greater 
hospitality.  In  fact,  the  fumes  which  pervaded  the  air 
rendered  it  exceedingly  noxious  to  every  living  thing, 
and  the  camp  was  fain  to  push  on  to  the  main  stream  of 
the  Bighorn  River.  Here  signs  of  trappers  became  appa- 
rent, and  spies  having  been  sent  out  discovered  a  camp  of 
about  forty  men,  under  Milton  Sublette,  brother  of  Captain 
William  Sublette,  the  same  that  had  been  detached  the 
previous  summer  to  hunt  in  that  country.  Smith  and  Sub- 
lette then  cached  their  furs,  and  moving  up  the  river  joined 
the  camp  of  M.  Sublette. 

The  manner  of  caching  furs  is  this :  A  pit  is  dug  to  a 
depth  of  five  or  six  feet  in  which  to  stand.  The  men  then 
drift  from  this  under  a  bank  of  solid  earth,  and  excavate  a 
room  of  considerable  dimensions,  iu  whifch  the  furs  are 
deposited,  and  the  apartment  closed  up.  The  pit  is  then 
filled  up  with  earth,  and  the  traces  of  digging  obliterated 
or  concealed.  These  caches  are  the  only  storehouses  of 
the  wilderness. 

While  the  men  were  recruiting  themselves  in  the  joint 
camp,  the  alarm  of  "Indians!"  was  given,  and  hurried 
cries  of  "  shoot !  shoot !  "  were  uttered  on  the  instant. 
Captain  Sublette,  however,  checked  this  precipitation,  and 
ordering  the  men  to  hold,  allowed  the  Indians  to  approach, 
making  signs  of  peace.  They  proved  to  be  a  war  party 
of  Crows,  who  after  smoking  the  pipe  of  peace  with  the 
Captain,  received  from  him  a  present  of  some  tobacco,  and 
departed. 


CHRISTMAS.  81 

As  soon  as  the  camp  was  sufficiently  recruited  for  trav- 
eling, the  united  companies  set  out  again  toward  the  south, 
and  crossed  the  Horn  mountains  once  more  into  Wind  River 
Valley ;  having  had  altogether,  a  successful  fall  hunt,  and 
made  some  important  explorations,  notwithstanding  the 
severity  of  the  weather  and  the  difficulty  of  mountain  trav- 
eling. It  was  about  Christmas  when  the  camp  arrived  on 
Wind  River,  and  the  cold  intense.  While  the  men  cele- 
brated Christmas,  as  best  they  might  under  the  circum- 
stances, Capt.  Sublette  started  to  St.  Louis  with  one  man, 
Harris,  called  among  mountain-men  Black  Harris,  on  snow- 
shoes,  with  a  train  of  pack-dogs.  Such  was  the  indomita- 
ble energy  and  courage  of  this  famous  leader  I 


CHAPTER    IV. 

1830.  The  furs  collected  by  Jackson's  company  were 
cached  on  the  Wind  River  ;  and  the  cold  still  being  very 
severe,  and  game  scarce,  the  two  remaining  leaders,  Smith 
and  Jackson,  set  out  on  the  first  of  January  with  the 
whole  camp,  for  the  buffalo  country,  on  the  Powder 
River,  a  distance  of  about  one  hundred  and  fifty  miles. 
"  Times  were  hard  in  camp,"  when  mountains  had  to  be 
crossed  in  the  depth  of  winter. 

The  animals  had  to  be  subsisted  on  the  bark  of  the 
sweet  cotton-wood,  which  grows  along  the  streams  and  in 
the  valleys  on  the  east  side  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  but 
is. nowhere  to  be  found  west  of  that  range.  This  way  of 
providing  for  his  horses  and  mules  involved  no  trifling 
amount  of  labor,  when  each  man  had  to  furnish  food  for 
several  of  them.  To  collect  this  bark,  the  men  carried 
the  smooth  limbs  of  the  cotton-wood  to  camp,  where,  be- 
side the  camp-fire,  they  shaved  off  the  sweet,  green  bark 
with  a  hunting-knife  transformed  into  a  drawing-knife  by 
fastening  a  piece  of  wood  to  its  point ;  or,  in  case  the 
cotton-wood  was  not  convenient,  the  bark  was  peeled  off, 
and  carried  to  camp  in  a  blanket.  So  nutritious  is  it, 
that  animals  fatten  upon  it  quite  as  well  as  upon  oats. 

In  the  large  cotton-wood  bottoms  on  the  Yellowstone 
River,  it  sometimes  became  necessary  to  station  a  double 
guard  to  keep  the  buffalo  out  of  camp,  so  numerous  were 
they,  when  the  severity  of  the  cold  drove  them  from  the 
prairies  to  these  cotton-wood  thickets  for  subsistence.     It 


THE    TRANSFORMATION    IN    THE    WILDERNESS.  83 

i 

was,  therefore,  of  double  importance  to  make  the  winter 
camp  where  the  cotton-wood  was  plenty  ;  since  not  only 
did  it  furnish  the  animals  of  the  camp  with  food,  but  by 
attracting  buffalo,  made  game  plenty  for  the  men.  To 
such  a  hunter's  paradise  on  Powder  River,  the  camp  was 
now  traveling,  and  arrived,  after  a  hard,  cold  march, 
about  the  middle  of  January,  when  the  whole  encamp- 
ment went  into  winter  quarters,  to  remain  until  the  open- 
ing of  spring. 

This  was  the  occasion  when  the  mountain-man  "  lived 
fat"  and  enjoyed  life:  a  season  of  plenty,  of  relaxation, 
of  amusement,  of  acquaintanceship  with  all  the  company, 
of  gayety,  and  of  "busy  idleness."  Through  the  day, 
hunting  parties  were  coming  and  going,  men  were  cook- 
ing, drying  meat,  making  moccasins,  cleaning  their  arms, 
wrestling,  playing  games,  and,  in  short,  everything  that 
an  isolated  community  of  hardy  men  could  resort  to  for 
occupation,  was  resorted  to  by  these  mountaineers.  Nor 
was  there  wanting,  in  the  appearance  of  the  camp,  the 
variety,  and  that  picturesque  air  imparted  by  a  mingling 
of  the  native  element ;  for  what  with  their  Indian  allies, 
their  native  wives,  and  numerous  children,  the  mountain- 
eers' camp  was  a  motley  assemblage ;  and  the  trappers 
themselves,  with  their  affectation  of  Indian  coxcombry, 
not  the  least  picturesque  individuals. 

The  change  wrought  in  a  wilderness  landscape  by  the 
arrival  of  the  grand  camp  was  wonderful  indeed.  Instead 
of  Nature's  superb  silence  and  majestic  loneliness,  there 
was  the  sound  of  men's  voices  in  boisterous  laughter,  or 
the  busy  hum  of  conversation  ;  the  loud-resounding  stroke 
of  the  axe ;  the  sharp  report  of  the  rifle ;  the  neighing 
of  horses,  and  braying  of  mules ;  the  Indian  whoop  and 
yell ;  and  all  that  not  unpleasing  confusion  of  sound  which 
accompanies  the  movements  of  the  creature  man.     Over 


84  THE    ENCAMPMENT    BY   NIGHT. 

the  plain,  only  dotted  until  now  with  shadows  of  clouds, 
or  the  transitory  passage  of  the  deer,  the  antelope,  or  the 
bear,  were  scattered  hundreds  of  lodges  and  immense 
herds  of  grazing  animals.  Even  the  atmosphere  itself 
seemed  changed  from  its  original  purity,  and  became 
clouded  with  the  smoke  from  many  camp-fires.  And  all 
this  change  might  go  as  quickly  as  it  came.  The  tent 
struck  and  the  march  resumed,  solitude  reigned  once 
more,  and  only  the  cloud  dotted  the  silent  landscape. 

If  the  day  was  busy  and  gleesome,  the  night  had  its 
charms  as  well.  Gathered  about  the  shining  fires,  groups 
of  men  in  fantastic  costumes  told  tales  of  marvelous  ad- 
ventures, or  sung  some  old-remembered  song,  or  were 
absorbed  in  games  of  chance.  Some  of  the  better  edu- 
cated men,  who  had  once  known  and  loved  books,  but 
whom  some  mishap  in  life  had  banished  to  the  wilderness, 
recalled  their  favorite  authors,  and  recited  passages  once 
treasured,  now  growing  unfamiliar  ;  or  whispered  to  some 
chosen  confrere  the  saddened  history  of  his  earlier  years, 
and  charged  him  thus  and  thus,  should  ever-ready  death 
surprise  himself  in  the  next  spring's  hunt. 

It  will  not  be  thought  discreditable  to  our  young  trap- 
per, Joe,  that  he  learned  to  read  by  the  light  of  the  camp- 
fire.  Becoming  sensible,  even  in  the  wilderness,  of  the 
deficiencies  of  his  early  education,  he  found  a  teacher  in 
a  comrade,  named  Green,  and  soon  acquired  sufficient 
knowledge  to  enjoy  an  old  copy  of  Shakspeare5  which, 
with  a  Bible,  was  carried  about  with  the  property  of  the 
camp. 

In  this  life  of  careless  gayety  and  plenty,  the  whole 
company  was  allowed  to  remain  without  interruption, 
until  the  first  of  April,  when  it  was  divided,  and  once 
more  started  on  the  march.  Jackson,  or  "  Davey,"  as  he 
was  called  by  the  men,  with  about  half  the  company,  left 


HEAVY  LOSS  OF  HORSES  AND  TRAPS.         85 

for  the  Snake  country.  The  remainder,  among  whom 
was  Meek,  started  north,  with  Smith  for  commander,  and 
James  Bridger  as  pilot. 

Crossing  the  mountains,  ranges  of  which  divide  the 
tributary  streams  of  the  Yellowstone  from  each  other,  the 
first  halt  was  made  on  Tongue  River.  From  thence  the 
camp  proceeded  to  the  Bighorn  River.  Through  all  this 
country  game  was  in  abundance, — buffalo,  elk,  and  bear, 
and  beaver  also  plenty.  In  mountain  phrase,  "times 
were  good  on  this  hunt : "  beaver  packs  increased  in  num- 
ber, and  both  men  and  animals  were  in  excellent  condi- 
tion. 

A  large  party  usually  hunted  out  the  beaver  and  fright- 
ened away  the  game  in  a  few  weeks,  or  days,  from  any 
one  locality.  When  this  happened  the  camp  moved  on ; 
or,  should  not  game  be  plenty,  it  kept  constantly  on  the 
move,  the  hunters  and  trappers  seldom  remaining  out 
more  than  a  day  or  two.  Should  the  country  be  consid- 
ered dangerous  on  account  of  Indians,  it  was  the  habit  of 
the  men  to  return  every  night  to  the  encampment. 

It  was  the  design  of  Smith  to  take  his  command  into 
the  Blackfoot  country,  a  region  abounding  in  the  riches 
which  he  sought,  could  they  only  be  secured  without 
coming  into  too  frequent  conflict  with  the  natives :  always 
a  doubtful  question  concerning  these  savages.  He  had 
proceeded  in  this  direction  as  far  as  Bovey's  Fork  of  the 
Bighorn,  when  the  camp  was  overtaken  by  a  heavy  fall 
of  snow,  which  made  traveling  extremely  difficult,  and 
which,  when  melted,  caused  a  sudden  great  rise  in  the 
mountain  streams.  In  attempting  to  cross  Bovey's  Fork 
during  the  high  water,  he  had  thirty  horses  swept  away, 
with  three  hundred  traps :  a  serious  loss  in  the  business 
of  hunting  beaver. 

In  the  manner  described,   pushing  on  through  an  un- 


86  ROBBED   AND    INSULTED    BY   A   BEAR. 

known  country,  hunting  and  trapping  as  they  moved,  the 
company  proceeded,  passing  another  low  chain  of  moun- 
tains, through  a  pass  called  Pryor's  Gap,  to  Clark's  Fork 
of  the  Yellowstoue,  thence  to  Rose-Bud  River,  and  finally 
to  the  main  Yellowstone  River,  where  it  makes  a  great 
bend  to  the  east,  enclosing  a  large  plain  covered  with 
grass,  and  having  also  extensive  cotton-wood  bottoms, 
which  subsequently  became  a  favorite  wintering  ground 
of  the  fur  companies. 

It  was  while  trapping  up  in  this  country,  on  the  Rose- 
Bud  River,  that  an  amusing  adventure  befel  our  trapper 
Joe.  Being  out  with  two  other  trappers,  at  some  distance 
from  the  great  camp,  they  had  killed  and  supped  off  a  fat 
buffalo  cow.  The  night  was  snowy,  and  their  camp  was 
made  in  a  grove  of  young  aspens.  Having  feasted  them- 
selves, the  remaining  store  of  choice  pieces  was  divided 
between,  and  placed,  hunter  fashion,  under  the  heads  of 
the  party,  on  their  betaking  themselves  to  their  blanket 
couches  for  the  night.  Neither  Indian  nor  wild  beast  dis- 
turbed their  repose,  as  they  slept,  with  their  guns  beside 
them,  filled  with  comfort  and  plenty.  But  who  ever 
dreams  of  the  presence  of  a  foe  under  such  circum- 
stances ?  Certainly  not  our  young  trapper,  who  was  only 
awakened  about  day-break  by  something  very  large  and 
heavy  walking  over  him,  and  snuffing  about  him  with  a 
most  insulting  freedom.  It  did  not  need  Yankee  powers 
of  guessing  to  make  out  who  the  intruder  in  camp  might 
be :  in  truth,  it  was  only  too  disagreeably  certain  that  it 
was  a  full  sized  grizzly  bear,  whose  keenness  of  smell  had 
revealed  to  him  the  presence  of  fat  cow-meat  in  that 
neighborhood. 

"  You  may  be  sure,"  says  Joe,  "  that  I  kept  very  quiet, 
while  that  bar  helped  himself  to  some  of  my  buffalo  meat, 
and  went  a  little  way  off  to  eat  it.     But  Mark  Head,  one 


A   NOVEL    FERRIAGE.  87 

of  the  men,  raised  up,  and  back  came  the  bar.  Down 
went  our  heads  under  the  blankets,  and  I  kept  mine  cov- 
ered pretty  snug,  while  the  beast  took  another  walk  over 
the  bed,  but  finally  went  off  again  to  a  little  distance. 
Mitchel  then  wanted  to  shoot ;  but  I  said,  '  no,  no  ;  hold 
on,  or  the  brute  will  kill  us,  sure.'  "When  the  bar  heard 
our  voices,  back  he  run  again,  and  jumped  on  the  bed  as 
before.  I'd  have  been  happy  to  have  felt  myself  sinking 
ten  feet  under  ground,  while  that  bar  promenaded  over 
and  around  us  !  However,  he  couldn't  quite  make  out  our 
style,  and  finally  took  fright,  and  ran  off  down  the  moun- 
tain. Wanting  to  be  revenged  for  his  impudence,  I  went 
after  him,  and  seeing  a  good  chance,  shot  him  dead. 
Then  I  took  my  turn  at  running  over  him  awhile ! " 

Such  are  the  not  infrequent  incidents  of  the  trapper's 
life,  which  furnish  him  with  material,  needing  little'  em- 
bellishment to  convert  it  into  those  wild  tales  with  which 
the  nights  are  whiled  away  around  the  winter  camp-fire. 

Arrived  at  the  Yellowstone  with  his  company,  Smith 
found  it  necessary,  on  account  of  the  high  water,  to  con- 
struct Bull-boats  for  the  crossing.  These  are  made  by 
stitching  together  buffalo  hides,  stretching  them  over  light 
frames,  and  paying  the  seams  with  elk  tallow  and  ashes. 
In  these  light  wherries  the  goods  and  people  were  ferried 
over,  while  the  horses  and  mules  were  crossed  by  swim- 
ming. 

The  mode  usually  adopted  in  crossing  large  rivers,  was 
to  spread  the  lodges  on  the  ground,  throwing  on  them  the 
light  articles,  saddles,  etc.  A  rope  was  then  run  through 
the  pin-holes  around  the  edge  of  each,  when  it  could  be 
drawn  up  like  a  reticule.  It  was  then  filled  with  the 
heavier  camp  goods,  and  being  tightly  drawn  up,  formed  a 
perfect  ball.  A  rope  being  tied  to  it,  it  was  launched  on 
the  water,  the  children  of  the  camp  on  top,  and  the  wo- 
men swimming  after  and  clinging  to  it,  while  a  man,  who 


88  RETURN    MARCH RUDE    BURIAL    SERVICE. 

had  the  rope  in  his  hand,  swam  ahead  holding  on  to  his 
horse's  mane.  In  this  way,  dancing  like  a  cork  on  the 
waves,  the  lodge  was  piloted  across;  and  passengers  as 
well  as  freight  consigned,  undamaged,  to  the  opposite 
shore.  A  large  camp  of  three  hundred  men,  and  one 
hundred  women  and  children  were  frequently  thus  crossed 
in  one  hour's  time. 

The  camp  was  now  in  the  excellent  but  inhospitable 
country  of  the  Blackfeet,  and  the  commander  redoubled 
his  precautions,  moving  on  all  the  while  to  the  Mussel  Shell, 
and  thence  to  the  Judith  River.  Beaver  were  plenty 
and  game  abundant ;  but  the  vicinity  of  the  large  village 
of  the  Blackfeet  made  trapping  impracticable.  Their 
war  upon  the  trappers  was  ceaseless ;  their  thefts  of  traps 
and  horses  ever  recurring :  and  Smith,  finding  that  to  re- 
main was  to  be  involved  in  incessant  warfare,  without 
hope  of  victory  or  gain,  at  length  gave  the  command  to 
turn  back,  which  was  cheerfully  obeyed :  for  the  trappers 
had  been  very  successful  on  the  spring  hunt,  and  thinking 
discretion  some  part  at  least  of  valor,  were  glad  to  get 
safe  out  of  the  Blackfoot  country  with  their  rich  harvest 
of  beaver  skins. 

The  return  march  was  by  the  way  of  Pryor's  Gap,  and 
up  the  Bighorn,  to  Wind  River,  where  the  cache  was 
made  in  the  previous  December.  The  furs  were  now 
taken  out  and  pressed,  ready  for  transportation  across  the 
plains.  A  party  was  also  dispatched,  under  Mr.  Tullock, 
to  raise  the  cache  on  the  Bighorn  River.  Among  this 
party  was  Meek,  and  a  Frenchman  named  Ponto.  While 
digging  to  come  at  the  fur,  the  bank  above  caved  in,  fal- 
ling upon  Meek  and  Ponto,  killing  the  latter  almost  in- 
stantly. Meek,  though  severely  hurt,  was  taken  out  alive : 
while  poor  Ponto  was  "rolled  in  a  blanket,  and  pitched 
into  the  river."  So  rude  were  the  burial  services  of  the 
trapper  of  the  Rocky  Mountains. 


THE    OLD    PARTNERS   TAKE    LEAVE.  89 

Meek  was  packed  back  to  camp,  along  with  the  furs, 
where  he  soon  recovered.  Sublette  arrived  from  St. 
Louis  with  fourteen  wagons  loaded  with  merchandise,  and 
1  two  hundred  additional  men  for  the  service.  Jackson  also 
arrived  from  the  Snake  country  with  plenty  of  beaver, 
and  the  business  of  the  yearly  rendezvous  began.  Then 
the  scenes  previously  described  were  re-enacted.  Beaver, 
the  currency  of  the  mountains,  was  plenty  that  year,  and 
goods  were  high  accordingly.  A  thousand  dollars  a  day 
was  not  too  much  for  some  of  the  most  reckless  to  spend 
on  their  squaws,  horses,  alcohol,  and  themselves.  For 
"  alcohol "  was  the  beverage  of  the  mountaineers.  Liquors 
could  not  be  furnished  to  the  men  in  that  country.  Pure 
alcohol  was  what  they  "got  tight  on;"  and  a  desperate 
tight  it  was,  to  be  sure ! 

An  important  change  took  place  in  the  affairs  of  the 
Rocky  Mountain  Company  at  this  rendezvous.  The  three 
partners,  Smith,  Sublette,  and  Jackson,  sold  out  to  a  new 
firm,  consisting  of  Milton  Sublette,  James  Bridger,  Fitz- 
patrick,  Frapp,  and  Jervais ;  the  new  company  retaining 
the  same  name  and  style  as  the  old. 

The  old  partners  left  for  St.  Louis,  with  a  company  of 
seventy  men,  to  convoy  the  furs.  Two  of  them  never  re- 
turned to  the  Rocky  Mountains ;  one  of  them,  Smith,  be- 
ing killed  the  following  year,  as  will  hereafter  be  related ; 
and  Jackson  remaining  in  St.  Louis,  where,  like  a  true 
mountain-man,  he  dissipated  his  large  and  hard-earned 
fortune  in  a  few  years.  Captain  Sublette,  however,  con- 
tinued to  make  his  annual  trips  to  and  from  the  mountains 
for  a  number  of  years ;  and  until  the  consolidation  of  an- 
other wealthy  company  with  the  Rocky  Mountain  Com- 
pany, continued  to  furnish  goods  to  the  latter,  at  a  profit 
on  St.  Louis  prices ;  his  capital  and  experience  enabling 
him  to  keep  the  new  firm  under  his  control  to  a  large 
degree. 


CHAPTER    V. 

1830.  The  whole  country  lying  upon  the  Yellowstone 
and  its  tributaries,  and  about  the  head- waters  of  theMissouri, 
at  the  time  of  which  we  are  writing,  abounded  not  only  in 
beaver,  but  in  buffalo,  bear,  elk,  antelope,  and  many  smaller 
kinds  of  game.  Indeed  the  buffalo  used  then  to  cross 

the  mountains  into  the  valleys  about  the  head-waters  of  the 
Snake  and  Colorado  Rivers,  in  such  numbers  that  at  cer- 
tain seasons  of  the  year,  the  plains  and  river  bottoms 
swarmed  with  them.  Since  that  day  they  have  quite  dis- 
appeared from  the  western  slope  of  the  Rocky  Mountains, 
and  are  no  longer  seen  in  the  same  numbers  on  the  east- 
ern side. 

Bear,  although  they  did  not  go  in  herds,  were  rather 
uncomfortably  numerous,  and  sometimes  put  the  trapper 
to  considerable  trouble,  and  fright  also ;  for  very  few  were 
brave  enough  to  willingly  encounter  the  formidable  griz- 
zly, one  blow  of  whose  terrible  paw,  aimed  generally  at 
the  hunter's  head,  if  not  arrested,  lays  him  senseless  and 
torn,  an  easy  victim  to  the  wrathful  monster.  A  gunshot 
wound,  if  not  directed  with  certainty  to  some  vulnerable 
point,  has  only  the  effect  to  infuriate  the  beast,  and  make 
him  trebly  dangerous.  From  the  fact  that  the  bear  al- 
ways bites  his  wound,  and  commences  to  run  with  his 
head  thus  brought  in  the  direction  from  which  the  ball 
comes,  he  is  pretty  likely  to  make  a  straight  wake  towards 
his  enemy,  whether  voluntarily  or  not ;  and  woe  be  to  the 
hunter  who  is  not  prepared  for  him,  with  a  shot  for  his 


AN    ADVENTURE    WITH   A   GRIZZLY.  91 

eye,  or  the  spot  just  behind  the  ear,  where  certain  death 
enters. 

In  the  frequent  encounters  of  the  mountain-men  with 
these  huge  beasts,  many  acts  of  wonderful  bravery  were 
performed,  while  some  tragedies,  and  not  a  few  comedies 
were  enacted. 

From  something  humorous  in  Joe  Meek's  organization, 
or  some  wonderful  "luck"  to  which  he  was  born,  or  both, 
the  greater  part  of  his  adventures  with  bears,  as  with  men, 
were  of  a  humorous  complexion ;  enabling  him  not  only 
to  have  a  story  to  tell,  but  one  at  which  his  companions 
were  bound  to  laugh.  One  of  these  which  happened  dur- 
ing the  fall  hunt  of  1830,  we  will  let  him  tell  for  himself: 

"  The  first  fall  on  the  Yellowstone,  Hawkins  and  myself 
were  coming  up  the  river  in  search  of  camp,  when  we  dis- 
covered a  very  large  bar  on  the  opposite  bank.  We  shot 
across,  and  thought  we  had  killed  him,  fur  he  laid  quite 
still.  As  we  wanted  to  take  some  trophy  of  our  victory 
to  camp,  we  tied  our  mules  and  left  our  guns,  clothes,  and 
everything  except  our  knives  and  belts,  and  swum  over  to 
whar  the  bar  war.  But  instead  of  being  dead,  as  we  ex- 
pected, he  sprung  up  as  we  come  near  him,  and  took  after 
us.  Then  you  ought  to  have  seen  two  naked  men  run ! 
It  war  a  race  for  life,  and  a  close  one,  too.  But  we  made 
the  river  first.  The  bank  war  about  fifteen  feet  high  above 
the  water,  and  the  river  ten  or  twelve  feet  deep ;  but  we 
didn't  halt.  Overboard  we  went,  the  bar  after  us,  and  in 
the  stream  about  as  quick  as  we  war.  The  current  war 
very  strong,  and  the  bar  war  about  half  way  between 
Hawkins  and  me.  Hawkins  was  trying  to  swim  down 
stream  faster  than  the  current  war  carrying  the  bar,  and  I 
war  a  trying  to  hold  back.  You  can  reckon  that  I  swam ! 
Every  moment  I  felt  myself  being  washed  into  the  yawn- 
ing jaws  of  the  mighty  beast,  whose  head  war  up  the 


92  BILLY,    DAVEY,    AND    OLD    GABE. 

stream,  and  his  eyes  on  me.  But  the  current  war  too  strong 
for  him,  and  swept  him  along  as  fast  as  it  did  me.  All  this 
time,  not  a  long  one,  we  war  looking  for  some  place  to 
land  where  the  bar  could  not  overtake  us.  Hawkins  war 
the  first  to  make  the  shore,  unknown  to  the  bar,  whose 
head  war  still  up  stream ;  and  he  set  up  such  a  whooping 
and  yelling  that  the  bar  landed  too,  but  on  the  opposite 
side.  I  made  haste  to  follow  Hawkins,  who  had  landed 
on  the  side  of  the  river  we  started  from,  either  by  design 
or  good  luck :  and  then  we  traveled  back  a  mile  and  more 
to  whar  our  mules  war  left — a  bar  on  one  side  of  the  river, 
and  two  bares  on  the  other  ! " 

Notwithstanding  that  a  necessary  discipline  was  observed 
and  maintained  in  the  fur  traders'  camp,  there  was  at  the 
same  time  a  freedom  of  manner  between  the  Booshways 
and  the  men,  both  hired  and  free,  which  could  not  obtain 
in  a  purely  military  organization,  nor  even  in  the  higher 
walks  of  civilized  life  in  cities.  In  the  mountain  commu- 
nity, motley  as  it  was,  as  in  other  communities  more  refined, 
were  some  men  who  enjoyed  almost  unlimited  freedom  of 
speech  and  action,  and  others  who  were  the  butt  of  every- 
body's ridicule  or  censure.  The  leaders  themselves  did 
not  escape  the  critical  judgment  of  the  men ;  and  the  es- 
timation in  which  they  were  held  could  be  inferred  from 
the  manner  in  which  they  designated  them.  Captain  Sub- 
lette, whose  energy,  courage,  and  kindness  entitled  him  to 
the  admiration  of  the  mountaineers,  went  by  the  name  of 
Billy :  his  partner  Jackson,  was  called  Davey ;  Bridger, 
old  Gabe,  and  so  on.  In  the  same  manner  the  men  distin- 
guished favorites  or  oddities  amongst  themselves,  and  ta 
have  the  adjective  old  prefixed  to  a  man's  name  signified 
nothing  concerning  his  age,  but  rather  that  he  was  an 
object  of  distinction ;  though  it  did  not  always  indicate, 
except  by  the  tone  in  which  it  was  pronounced,  whether 
that  distinction  were  an  enviable  one  or  not. 


HOW    SUBLETTE    CLIMBED    A    COTTON-WOOD.  93 

Whenever  a  trapper  could  get  hold  of  any  sort  of  story- 
reflecting  on  the  courage  of  a  leader,  he  was  sure  at  some 
time  to  make  him  aware  of  it,  and  these  anecdotes  were 
sometimes  sharp  answers  in  the  mouths  of  careless  camp- 
keepers.  Bridger  was  once  waylaid  by  Blackfeet,  who 
shot  at  him,  hitting  his  horse  in  several  places.  The 
wounds  caused  the  animal  to  rear  and  pitch,  by  reason  of 
which  violent  movements  Bridger  dropped  his  gun,  and 
the  Indians  snatched  it  up ;  after  which  there  was  nothing 
to  do  except  to  run,  which  Bridger  accordingly  did.  Not 
long  after  this,  as  was  customary,  the  leader  was  making 
a  circuit  of  the  camp  examining  the  camp-keeper's  guns, 
to  see  if  they  were  in  order,  and  found  that  of  one  Ma- 
loney,  an  Irishman,  in  a  very  dirty  condition. 

"  What  would  you  do,"  asked  Bridger,  "with  a  gun  like 
that,  if  the  Indians  were  to  charge  on  the  camp  ?  " 

"Be ,  I  would  throw  it  to  them,  and  run  the  way 

ye  did,"  answered  Maloney,  quickly.  It  was  sometime 
after  this  incident  before  Bridger  again  examined  Molo- 
ney's gun. 

A  laughable  story  in  this  way  went  the  rounds  of  the 
camp  in  this  fall  of  1830.  Milton  Sublette  was  out  on  a 
hunt  with  Meek  after  buffalo,  and  they  were  just  approach- 
ing the  band  on  foot,  at  a  distance  apart  of  about  fifty  yards, 
when  a  large  grizzly  bear  came  out  of  a  thicket  and  made 
after  Sublette,  who,  when  he  perceived  the  creature,  ran 
for  the  nearest  cotton- wood  tree.  Meek  in  the  meantime, 
seeing  that  Sublette  was  not  likely  to  escape,  had  taken 
sure  aim,  and  fired  at  the  bear,  fortunately  killing  him. 
On  running  up  to  the  spot  where  it  laid,  Sublette  was  discov- 
ered sitting  at  the  foot  of  a  cotton-wood,  with  his  legs  and 
arms  clasped  tightly  around  it. 

"  Do  you  always  climb  a  tree  in  that  way  ?  "  asked  Meek. 


94 


A   SUCCESSFUL    HUNT. 


"I  reckon  you  took  the  wrong  end  of  it,  that  time, 
Milton!" 

"  I'll  be    ,  Meek,  if  I  didn't  think  I  was  twenty 

feet  up  that  tree  when  you  shot ; "  answered  the  frightened 
Booshway ;  and  from  that  time  the  men  never  tired  of 
alluding  to  Milton's  manner  of  climbing  a  tree. 


THE  "WRONG  END  OF  THE  TREE. 


These  were  some  of  the  mirthful  incidents  which  gave 
occasion  for  a  gayety  which  had  to  be  substituted  for  hap- 
piness, in  the  checkered  life  of  the  trapper ;  and  there 
were  like  to  be  many  such,  where  there  were  two  hun- 
dred men,  each  almost  daily  in  the  way  of  adventures  by 
flood  or  field. 

On  the  change  in  the  management  of  the  Company 
which  occurred  at  the  rendezvous  this  year,  three  of  the 
new  partners,  Fitzpatrick,  Sublette,  and  Bridger,  conducted 
a  large  party,  numbering  over  two  hundred,  from  the  Wind 
River  to  the  Yellowstone ;  crossing  thence  to  Smith's  River, 
the  Falls  of  the  Missouri,  three  forks  of  the  Missouri,  and 
to  the  Big  Blackfoot  River.  The  hunt  proved  very  suc- 
cessful ;  beaver  were  plentiful ;  and  the  Blackfeet  shy  of 
so  large  a  traveling  party.  Although  so  long  in  their 
country,  there  were  only  four  men  killed  out  of  the  whole 
company  during  this  autumn. 


MEETING    WITH     RIVAL    TRAPPERS.  95 

From  the  Blackfoot  River  the  company  proceeded  down 
the  west  side  of  the  mountains  to  the  forks  of  the  Snake 
River,  and  after  trapping  for  a  short  time  in  this  locality, 
continued  their  march  southward  as  far  as  Ogden's  Hole, 
a  small  valley  among  the  Bear  River  Mountains. 

At  this  place  they  fell  in  with  a  trading  and  trapping 
party,  under  Mr.  Peter  Skeen  Ogden,  of  the  Hudson's  Bay 
Company.  And  now  commenced  that  irritating  and  rep- 
rehensible style  of  rivalry  with  which  the  different  com- 
panies were  accustomed  to  annoy  one  another.  Accom- 
panying Mr.  Ogden's  trading  party  were  a  party  of  Rock- 
way  Indians,  who  were  from  the  North,  and  who  were 
employed  by  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company,  as  the  Iroquois 
and  Crows  were,  to  trap  for  them.  Fitzpatrick  and  asso- 
ciates camped  in  the  neighborhood  of  Ogden's  company, 
and  immediately  set  about  endeavoring  to  purchase  from 
the  Rockways  and  others,  the  furs  collected  for  Mr.  Ogden. 
Not  succeeding  by  fair  means,  if  the  means  to  such  an  end 
could  be  called  fair, — they  opened  a  keg  of  whiskey,  which, 
when  the  Indians  had  got  a  taste,  soon  drew  them  away 
from  the  Hudson's  Bay  trader,  the  regulations  of  whose 
company  forbade  the  selling  or  giving  of  liquors  to  the 
Indians.  Under  its  influence,  the  furs  were  disposed  of  to 
the  Rocky  Mountain  Company,  who  in  this  manner  obtained 
nearly  the  whole  product  of  their  year's  hunt.  This  course 
of  conduct  was  naturally  exceedingly  disagreeable  to  Mr. 
Ogden,  as  well  as  unprofitable  also ;  and  a  feeling  of  hos- 
tility grew  up  and  increased  between  the  two  camps. 

While  matters  were  in  this  position,  a  stampede  one  day 
occurred  among  the  horses  in  Ogden's  camp,  and  two  or 
three  of  the  animals  ran  away,  and  ran  into  the  camp  of 
the  rival  company.  Among  them  was  the  horse  of  Mr. 
Ogden's  Indian  wife,  which  had  escaped,  with  her  babe 
hanging  to  the  saddle. 
7 


96  OGDEN'S   INDIAN   WIFE. 

Not  many  minutes  elapsed,  before  the  mother,  following 
her  child  and  horse,  entered  the  camp,  passing  right 
through  it,  and  catching  the  now  halting  steed  by  the  bri- 
dle. At  the  same  moment  she  espied  one  of  her  com- 
pany's pack-horses,  loaded  with  beaver,  which  had  also 
run  into  the  enemy's  camp.  The  men  had  already  begun 
to  exult  over  the  circumstance,  -considering  this  chance 
load  of  beaver  as  theirs,  by  the  laws  of  war.  But  not  so 
the  Indian  woman.  Mounting  her  own  horse,  she  fearlessly 
seized  the  pack-horse  by  the  halter,  and  led  it  out  of  camp, 
with  its  costly  burden. 

At  this  undaunted  action,  some  of  the  baser  sort  of  men 
cried  out  "shoot  her,  shoot  her !  "  but  a  majority  interfered, 
with  opposing  cries  of  "let  her  go;  let  her  alone;  shels 
a  brave  woman :  I  glory  in  her  pluck ;"  and  other  like 
admiring  expressions.  While  the  clamor  continued,  the 
wife  of  Ogden  had  galloped  away,  with  her  baby  and 
her  pack-horse. 

As  the  season  advanced,  Fitzpatrick,  with  his  other  part- 
ners, returned  to  the  east  side  of  the  mountains,  and  went 
into  winter  quarters  on  Powder  river.  In  this  trapper's 
"land  of  Canaan"  they  remained  between  two  and  three 
months.  The  other  two  partners,  Frapp  and  Jervais,  who 
were  trapping  far  to  the  south,  did  not  return  until  the 
following  year. 

While  wintering  it  became  necessary  to  send  a  dispatch 
to  St.  Louis  on  the  company's  business.  Meek  and  a 
Frenchman  named  Legarde,  were  chosen  for  this  service, 
which  was  one  of  trust  and  peril  also.  They  proceeded 
without  accident,  however,  until  the  Pawnee  villages  were 
reached,  when  Legarde  was  taken  prisoner.  Meek,  more 
cautious,  escaped,  and  proceeded  alone  a  few  days'  travel 
beyond,  when  he  fell  in  with  an  express  on  its  way  to  St. 
Louis,  to  whom  he  delivered  his  dispatches,  and  returned 


CROW   HORSE-THIEVES.  97 

to  camp,  accompanied  only  by  a  Frenchman  named  Cabe- 
neau;  thus  proving  himself  an  efficient  mountaineer  at 
twenty  years  of  age. 

1831.  As  soon  as  the  spring  opened,  sometime  in 
March,  the  whole  company  started  north  again,  for  the 
Blackfoot  country.  But  on  the  night  of  the  third  day  out, 
they  fell  unawares  into  the  neighborhood  of  a  party  of 
Crow  Indians,  whose  spies  discovered  the  company's 
horses  feeding  on  the  dry  grass  of  a  little  bottom,  and 
succeeded  in  driving  off  about  three  hundred  head.  Here 
was  a  dilemma  to  be  in,  in  the  heart  of  an  enemy's  coun- 
try !  To  send  the  remaining  horses  after  these,  might  be 
"sending  the  axe  after  the  helve;"  besides  most  of  them 
belonged  to  the  free  trappers,  and  could  not  be  pressed 
into  the  service. 

The  only  course  remaining  was  to  select  the  best  men 
and  dispatch  them  on  foot,  to  overtake  and  retake  the 
stolen  horses.  Accordingly  one  hundred  trappers  were 
ordered  on  this  expedition,  among  whom  were  Meek, 
Newell,  and  Antoine  Godin,  a  half-breed  and  brave  fellow, 
who  was  to  lead  the  party.  Following  the  trail  of 
the  Crows  for  two  hundred  miles,  traveling  day  and  night, 
on  the  third  day  they  came  up  with  them  on  a  branch  of 
the  Bighorn  river.  The  trappers  advanced  cautiously, 
and  being  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  stream,  on  a  wooded 
bluff,  were  enabled  to  approach  close  enough  to  look  into 
their  fort,  and  count  the  unsuspecting  thieves.  There 
were  sixty  of  them,  fine  young  braves,  who  believed  that 
now  they  had  made  a  start  in  life.  Alas,  for  the  vanity 
of  human,  and  especially  of  Crow  expectations!  Even 
then,  while  they  were  grouped  around  their  fires,  congratu- 
lating themselves  on  the  sudden  wealth  which  had  descend- 
ed upon  them,  as  it  were  from  the  skies,  an  envious  fate, 
in  the  shape  of  several  roguish  white  trappers,  was  laugh- 


98  NIGHT    ATTACK    ON   THE   INDIAN   FORT. 

ing  at  them  and  their  hopes,  from  the  overhanging  bluff 
opposite  them.  And  by  and  by,  when  they  were  wrapped 
in  a  satisfied  slumber,  two  of  these  laughing  rogues,  Rob- 
ert Newell,  and  Antoine  Godin,  stole  under  the  very 
walls  of  their  fort,  and  setting  the  horses  free,  drove  them 
across  the  creek. 

The  Indians  were  awakened  by  the  noise  of  the  tramp- 
ling horses,  and  sprang  to  arms.  But  Meek  and  his  fellow- 
trappers  on  the  bluff  fired  into  the  fort  with  such  effect 
that  the  Crows  were  appalled.  Having  delivered  their 
first  volley,  they  did  not  wait  for  the  savages  to  recover 
from  their  recoil.  Mounting  in  hot  haste,  the  cavalcade 
of  bare-back  riders,  and  their  drove  of  horses,  were  soon 
far  away  from  the  Crow  fort,  leaving  the  ambitious  braves 
to  finish  their  excursion  on  foot.  It  was  afterwards  ascer- 
tained that  the  Crows  lost  seven  men  by  that  one  volley 
of  the  trappers. 

Flushed  with  success,  the  trappers  yet  found  the  back- 
ward journey  more  toilsome  than  the  outward ;  for  what 
with  sleeplessness  and  fatigue,  and  bad  traveling  in  melted 
snow,  they  were  pretty  well  exhausted  when  they  reached 
camp.  Fearing,  however,  another  raid  from  the  thieving 
Crows,  the  camp  got  in  motion  again  with  as  little  delay 
as  possible.  They  had  not  gone  far,  when  Fitzpatrick 
turned  back,  with  only  one  man,  to  go  to  St.  Louis  for 
supplies. 

After  the  departure  of  Fitzpatrick,  Bridger  and  Sublette 
completed  their  spring  and  summer  campaign  without  any 
material  loss  in  men  or  animals,  and  with  considerable 
gain  in  beaver  skins.  Having  once  more  visited  the  Yel- 
lowstone, they  turned  to  the  south  again,  crossing  the 
mountains  into  Pierre's  Hole,  on  to  Snake  river ;  thence 
to  Salt  river  ;  thence  to  Bear  river ;  and  thence  to  Green 
river,  to  rendezvous. 


A    "MEDICINE    MAN  "  CONSULTED.  99 

It  was  expected  that  Fitzpatrick  would  have  arrived 
from  St.  Louis  with  the  usual  annual  recruits  and  supplies 
of  merchandise,  in  time  for  the  summer  rendezvous ;  but 
after  waiting  for  some  time  in  vain,  Bridger  and  Sublette 
determined  to  send  out  a  small  party  to  look  for  him. 
The  large  number  of  men  now  employed,  had  exhausted 
the  stock  of  goods  on  hand.  The  camp  was  without 
blankets  and  without  ammunition ;  knives  were  not  to  be 
had ;  traps  were  scarce ;  but  worse  than  all,  the  tobacco 
had  given  out,  and  alcohol  was  not !  In  such  a  case  as 
this,  what  could  a  mountain- man  do  ? 

To  seek  the  missing  Booshway  became  not  only  a  duty, 
but  a  necessity ;  and  not  only  a  necessity  of  the  physical 
man,  but  in  an  equal  degree  a  need  of  the  moral  and  spir- 
itual man,  which  was  rusting  with  the  tedium  of  waiting. 
In  the  state  of  uncertainty  in  which  the  minds  of  the  com- 
pany were  involved,  it  occurred  to  that  of  Frapp  to  con- 
sult a  great  "medicine-man"  of  the  Crows,  one  of  those 
recruits  filched  from  Mr.  Ogden's  party  by  whiskey  the 
previous  year. 

Like  all  eminent  professional  men,  the  Crow  chief  re- 
quired a  generous  fee,  of  the  value  of  a  horse  or  two, 
before  he  would  begin  to  make  "medicine."  This  pecul- 
iar ceremony  is  pretty  much  alike  among  all  the  different 
tribes.  It  is  observed  first  in  the  making  of  a  medicine 
man,  i.  e.,  qualifying  him  for  his  profession ;  and  after- 
wards is  practiced  to  enable  him  to  heal  the  sick,  to 
prophecy,  and  to  dream  dreams,  or-  even  to  give  victory 
to  his  people.  To  a  medicine-man  was  imputed  great 
power,  not  only  to  cure,  but  to  kill ;  and  if,  as  it  some- 
times happened,  the  relatives  of  a  sick  man  suspected  the 
medicine-man  of  having  caused  his  death,  by  the  exercise 
of  evil  powers,  one  of  them,  or  all  of  them,  pursued  him 


100  HOW    MEDICINE    MEN   ARE    MADE. 

to  the  death.  Therefore,  although  it  might  be  honorable, 
it  was  not  always  safe  to  be  a  great  "  medicine." 

The  Indians  placed  a  sort  of  religious  value  upon  the 
practice  of  fasting ;  a  somewhat  curious  fact,  when  it  is 
remembered  how  many  compulsory  fasts  they  are  obliged 
to  endure,  which  must  train  them  to  think  lightly  of  the 
deprivation  of  food.  Those,  however,  who  could  endure 
voluntary  abstinence  long  enough,  were  enabled  to  be- 
come very  wise  and  very  brave.  The  manner  of  making 
a  " medicine"  among  some  of  the  interior  tribes,  is  in  cer- 
tain respects  similar  to  the  practice  gone  through  with  by 
some  preachers,  in  making  a  convert.  A  sort  of  camp- 
meeting  is  held,  for  several  nights,  generally  about  five, 
during  which  various  dances  are  performed,  with  cries, 
and  incantations,  bodily  exercises,  singing,  and  nervous 
excitement;  enough  to  make  many  patients,  instead  of 
one  doctor.  But  the  native's  constitution  is  a  strong  one, 
and  he  holds  out  well.  At  last,  however,  one  or  more 
are  overcome  with  the  mysterious  power  which  enters  into 
them  at  that  time ;  making,  instead  of  a  saint,  only  a  su- 
perstitious Indian  doctor. 

The  same  sort  of  exercises  which  had  made  the  Cree 
man  a  doctor  were  now  resorted  to,  in  order  that  he  might 
obtain  a  more  than  natural  sight,  enabling  him  to  see  vis- 
ions of  the  air,  or  at  the  least  to  endow  him  with  pro- 
phetic dreams.  After  several  nights  of  singing,  dancing, 
hopping,  screeching,  beating  of  drums,  and  other  more 
violent  exercises  and  contortions,  the  exhausted  medicine- 
man fell  oflf  to  sleep,  and  when  he  awoke  he  announced 
to  Frapp  that  Fitzpatrick  was  not  dead.  He  was  on  the 
road;  some  road;  but  not  the  right  one ;  etc.,  etc. 

Thus  encouraged,  Frapp  determined  to  take  a  party, 
and  go  in  search  of  him.  Accordingly  Meek,  Reese, 
Ebarts,  and  Nelson,  volunteered  to  accompany  him.     This 


THE    MISSING    TRADER   FOUND.  101 

party  set  out,  first  in  the  direction  of  Wind  Hirer ;  but 
not  discovering  any  signs  of  the  lost  Booshway  in  that 
quarter,  crossed  over  to  the  Sweetwater,  and  kept  along 
down  to  the  North  Fork  of  the  Platte,  and  thence  to  the 
Black  Hills,  where  they  found  a  beautiful  country  full  of 
game ;  but  not  the  hoped-for  train,  with  supplies.  After 
waiting  for  a  short  time  at  the  Black  Hills,  Frapp's  party 
returned  to  the  North  Fork  of  the  Platte,  and  were 
rejoiced  to  meet  at  last,  the  long  absent  partner,  with  his 
pack  train.  Urged  by  Frapp,  Fitzpatrick  hastened  for- 
ward, and  came  into  camp  on  Powder  River  after  winter 
had  set  in. 

Fitzpatrick  had  a  tale  to  tell  the  other  partners,  in  ex- 
planation of  his  unexpected  delay.  When  he  had  started 
for  St.  Louis  in  the  month  of  March  previous,  he  had 
hoped  to  have  met  the  old  partners,  Capt.  Sublette  and 
Jedediah  Smith,  and  to  have  obtained  the  necessary  sup- 
plies from  them,  to  furnish  the  Summer  rendezvous  with 
plenty.  But  these  gentlemen,  when  he  fell  in  with  them, 
used  certain  arguments  which  induced  him  to  turn  back, 
and  accompany  them  to  Santa  Fe,  where  they  prom- 
ised to  furnish  him  goods,  as  he  desired,  and  to  procure 
for  him  an  escort  at  that  place.  The  journey  had  proven 
tedious,  and  unfortunate.  They  had  several  times  been 
attacked  by  Indians,  and  Smith  had  been  killed.  While 
they  were  camped  on  a  small  tributary  of  the  Simmaron 
River,  Smith  had  gone  a  short  distance  from  camp  to  pro- 
cure water,  and  while  at  the  stream  was  surprised  by  an 
ambush,  and  murdered  on  the  spot,  his  murderers  escaping 
unpunished.  Sublette,  now  left  alone  in  the  business, 
finally  furnished  him ;  and  he  had  at  last  made  his  way 
back  to  his  Rocky  Mountain  camp. 

But  Fitzpatrick's  content  at  being  once  more  with  his 
company  was  poisoned  by  the  disagreeable  proximity  of  a 


102  •  EXPEDITION   ON   SNOW   SHOES. 

rival  company.  If  he  had  annoyed  Mr.  Ogden  of  the 
Hudson's  Bay  Company,  in  the  previous  autumn,  Major 
Vanderburg  and  Mr.  Dripps,  of  the  American  Company, 
in  their  turn  annoyed  him.  This  company  had  been  on 
their  heels,  from  the  Platte  River,  and  now  were  camped 
in  the  same  neighborhood,  using  the  Rocky  Mountain 
Company  as  pilots  to  show  them  the  country.  As  this 
was  just  what  it  was  not  for  their  interest  to  do,  the 
Rocky  Mountain  Company  raised  camp,  and  fairly  ran 
away  from  them ;  crossing  the  mountains  to  the  Forks  of 
the  Snake  River,  where  they  wintered  among  the  Nez  Per- 
ces  and  Flathead  Indians. 

Some  time  during- this  winter,  Meek  and  Legarde,  who 
had  escaped  from  the  Pawnees,  made  another  expedition 
together ;  traveling  three  hundred  miles  on  snowshoes,  to 
the  Bitter  Root  River,  to  look  for  a  party  of  free  trappers, 
whose  beaver  the  company  wished  to  secure.  They  were 
absent  two  months  and  a  half,  on  this  errand,  and  were 
entirely  successful,  passing  a  Blackfoot  village  in  the 
night,  but  having  no  adventures  worth  recounting. 


CHAPTER    VI. 

1832.  In  the  following  spring,  the  Rocky  Mountain  Fur 
Company  commenced  its  march,  first  up  Lewis'  Fork,  then 
on  to  Salt  River,  thence  to  Gray's  River,  and  thence  to 
Bear  River.  They  fell  in  with  the  North  American  Fur 
Company  on  the  latter  river,  with  a  large  lot  of  goods, 
but  no  beaver.  The  American  Company's  resident  part- 
ners were  ignorant  of  the  country,  and  were  greatly  at  a 
loss  where  to  look  for  the  good  trapping  grounds.  These 
gentlemen,  Vanderburg  and  Dripps,  were  therefore  in- 
clined to  keep  an  eye  on  the  movements  of  the  Rocky 
Mountain  Company,  whose  leaders  were  acquainted  with 
the  whole  region  lying  along  the  mountains,  from  the 
head-waters  of  the  Colorado  to  the  northern  branches  of 
the  Missouri.  On  the  other  hand,  the  Rocky  Mountain 
Company  were  anxious  to  "shake  the  dust  from  off  their 
feet,"  which  was  trodden  by  the  American  Company,  and 
to  avoid  the  evils  of  competition  in  an  Indian  country. 
But  they  found  the  effort  quite  useless ;  the  rival  company 
had  a  habit  of  turning  up  in  the  most  unexpected  places, 
and  taking  advantage  of  the  hard-earned  experience  of 
the  Rocky  Mountain  Company's  leaders.  They  tampered 
with  the  trappers,  and  ferreted  out  the  secret  of  their  next  ren- 
dezvous ;  they  followed  on  their  trail,  making  them  pilots 
to  the  trapping  grounds ;  they  sold  goods  to  the  Indians, 
and  what  was  worse,  to  the  hired  trappers.  In  this  way 
grew  up  that  fierce  conflict  of  interests,  which  made  it  "as 
much  as  his  life  was  worth"  for  a  trapper  to  suffer  himself^ 


104         THE    CHIEF'S    DAUGHTER — SUBLETTE    WOUNDED. 

to  be  inveigled  into  the  service  of  a  rival  company,  which 
about  this  time  or  a  little  later,  was  at  its  highest,  and 
which  finally  ruined  the  fur-trade  for  the  American  com- 
panies in  the  Rocky  Mountains. 

Finding  their  rivals  in  possession  of  the  ground,  Bridger 
and  Milton  Sublette  resolved  to  spend  but  a  few  days  in 
that  country.  But  so  far  as  Sublette  was  concerned,  cir- 
cumstances ordered  differently.  A  Rockway  Chief,  named 
Gray,  and  seven  of  his  people,  had  accompanied  the  camp 
from  Ogden's  Hole,  in  the  capacity  of  trappers.  But  dur- 
ing the  sojourn  on  Bear  River,  there  was  a  quarrel  in 
camp  on  account  of  some  indignity,  real  or  fancied,  which 
had  been  offered  to  the  chief's  daughter,  and  in  the  affray 
Gray  stabbed  Sublette  so  severely  that  it  was  thought  he 
must  die. 

It  thus  fell  out  that  Sublette  had  to  be  left  behind ;  and 
Meek  who  was  his  favorite,  was  left  to  take  care  of  him 
while  he  lived,  and  bury  him  if  he  died ;  which  trouble 
Sublette  saved  him,  however,  by  getting  well.  But  they 
had  forty  lonesome  days  to  themselves  after  the  camps 
had  moved  off, — one  on  the  heels  of  the  other,  to  the 
great  vexation  of  Bridger.  Time  passed  slowly  in  Sub- 
lette's lodge,  while  waiting  for  his  wound  to  heal.  Day 
passed  after  day,  so  entirely  like  each  other  that  the  mo- 
notony alone  seemed  sufficient  to  invite  death  to  an  easy 
conquest.  But  the  mountain-man's  blood,  like  the  In- 
dians, is  strong  and  pure,  and  his  flesh  heals  readily,  there- 
fore, since  death  would  not  have  him,  the  wounded  man 
was  forced  to  accept  of  life  in  just  this  monotonous  form. 
To  him  Joe  Meek  was  everything, — hands,  feet,  physician, 
guard,  caterer,  hunter,  cook,  companion,  friend.  What 
long  talks  they  had,  when  Sublette  grew  better :  what 
stories  they  told ;  what  little  glimpses  of  a  secret  chamber 
in  their  hearts,  and  a  better  than  the  every-day  spirit,  in 


CAPTURED    BY    SNAKE    INDIANS.  105 

their  bosoms,  was  revealed, — as  men  will  reveal  such 
things  in  the  isolation  of  sea- voyages,  or  the  solitary  pres- 
ence of  majestic  Nature. 

To  the  veteran  mountaineer  there  must  have  been 
something  soothing  in  the  care  and  friendship  of  the 
youth  of  twenty-two,  with  his  daring  disposition,  his  frank- 
ness, his  cheerful  humor,  and  his  good  looks ; — for  our  Joe 
was  growing  to  be  a  maturely  handsome  man — tall,  broad- 
shouldered,  straight,  with  plenty  of  flesh,  and  none  too 
much  of  it ;  a  Southerner's  olive  complexion ;  frank,  dark 
eyes,  and  a  classical  nose  and  chin.  What  though  in  the 
matter  of  dress  he  was  ignorant  of  the  latest  styles? — 
grace  imparts  elegance  even  to  the  trapper's  beaver-skin 
cap  and  blanket  capote. 

At  the  end  of  forty  days,  as  many  as  it  took  to  drown 
a  world,  Sublette  found  himself  well  enough  to  ride ;  and 
the  two  set  out  on  their  search  for  camp.  But  now  other 
adventures  awaited  them.  On  a  fork  of  Green  River, 
they  came  suddenly  upon  a  band  of  Snake  Indians  feed- 
ing their  horses.  As  soon  as  the  Snakes  discovered  the 
white  men,  they  set  up  a  yell,  and  made  an  instinctive 
rush  for  their  horses.  Now  was  the  critical  moment. 
One  word  passed  between  the  travelers,  and  they  made  a 
dash  past  the  savages,  right  into  the  village,  and  never 
slacked  rein  until  they  threw  themselves  from  their  horses 
at  the  door  of  the  Medicine  lodge.  This  is  a  large  and  fan- 
cifully decorated  lodge,  which  stands  in  the  centre  of  a  vil- 
lage, and  like  the  churches  of  Christians,  is  sacred.  Once 
inside  of  this,  the  strangers  were  safe  for  the  present ;  their 
blood  could  not  be  shed  there. 

The  warriors  of  the  village  soon  followed  Sublette  and 
Meek  into  their  strange  house  of  refuge.  In  half  an 
hour  it  was  filled.  Not  a  word  was  addressed  to  the 
strangers ;  nor  by  them  to  the  Indians,  who  talked  among 


106  A   SOLEMN    COUNCIL SENTENCE    OF    DEATH. 

themselves  with  a  solemn  eagerness,  while  they  smoked 
the  medicine  pipe,  as  inspiration  in  their  councils.  Great 
was  the  excitement  in  the  minds  of  the  listeners,  who  un- 
derstood the  Snake  tongue,  as  the  question  of  their  life  or 
death  was  gravely  discussed;  yet  in  their  countenances 
appeared  only  the  utmost  serenity.  To  show  fear,  is  to 
whet  an  Indian's  appetite  for  blood :  coolness  confounds 
and  awes  him  when  anything  will. 

If  Sublette  had  longed  for  excitement,  while  an  invalid 
in  his  lonely  lodge  on  Bear  River,  he  longed  equally  now 
for  that  blissful  seclusion.  Listening  for,  and  hearing 
one's  death-warrant  from  a  band  of  blood-thirsty  savages, 
could  only  prove  with  bitter  sharpness  how  sweet  was  life, 
even  the  most  uneventful.  For  hours  the  council  continued, 
and  the  majority  favored  the  death-sentence.  But  one  old 
chief,  called  the  good  Gotia,  argued  long  for  an  acquittal : 
he  did  not  see  the  necessity  of  murdering  two  harmless 
travelers  of  the  white  race.  Nothing  availed,  however, 
and  just  at  sunset  their  doom  was  fixed. 

The  only  hope  of  escape  was,  that,  favored  by  darkness, 
they  might  elude  the  vigilance  of  their  jailers ;  and  night, 
although  so  near,  seemed  ages  away,  even  at  sundown. 
Death  being  decreed,  the  warriors  left  the  lodge  one  by 
one  to  attend  to  the  preparation  of  the  preliminary  cere- 
monies. Gotia,  the  good,  was  the  last  to  depart.  As  he 
left  the  Medicine  lodge  he  made  signs  to  the  captives  to 
remain  quiet  until  he  should  return ;  pointing  upwards  to 
signify  that  there  was  a  chance  of  life ;  and  downwards 
to  show  that  possibly  they  must  die. 

What  an  age  of  anxiety  was  that  hour  of  waiting !  Not 
a  word  had  been  exchanged  between  the  prisoners  since 
the  Indians  entered  the  lodge,  until  now ;  and  now  very 
little  was  said,  for  speech  would  draw  upon  them  the  vigi- 
lance of  their  enemy,  by  whom  they  desired  most  ar- 
dently to  be  forgotten. 


A  RESCUE UMENTUCKEN,  THE  MOUNTAIN  LAMB.    107 

About  dusk  there  was  a  great  noise,  and  confusion,  and 
clouds  of  dust,  in  the  south  end  of  the  village.  Some- 
thing was  going  wrong  among  the  Indian  horses.  Imme- 
diately all  the  village  ran  to  the  scene  of  the  disorder, 
and  at  the  same  moment  Gotia,  the  good,^  appeared  at  the 
door  of  the  Medicine  lodge,  beckoning  the  prisoners  to 
follow  him.  With  alacrity  they  sprang  up  and  after  him, 
and  were  led  across  the  stream,  to  a  thicket  on  the  oppo- 
site side,  where  their  horses  stood,  ready  to  mount,  in  the 
charge  of  a  young  Indian  girl.  They  did  not  stop  for 
compliments,  though  had  time  been  less  precious,  they 
might  well  have  bestowed  some  moments  of  it  in  admira- 
tion of  UmentucJcen  Tukutsey  Undewatsey,  the  Mountain 
Lamb.  Soon  after,  the  beautiful  Snake  girl  became  the  wife 
of  Milton  Sublette ;  and  after  his  return  to  the  States,  of  the 
subject  of  this  narrative ;  from  which  circumstance  the 
incident  above  related  takes  on  something  of  the  rosy  hue 
of  romance. 

As  each  released  captive  received  his  bridle  from  the 
delicate  hand  of  the  Mountain  Lamb,  he  sprang  to  the 
saddle.  By  this  time  the  chief  had  discovered  that  the 
strangers  understood  the  Snake  dialect.  "Ride,  if  you 
wish  to  live,"  said  he:  "ride  without  stopping,  all  night: 
and  to-morrow  linger  not."  With  hurried  thanks  our 
mountain-men  replied  to  this  advice,  and  striking  into  a 
gallop,  were  soon  far  away  from  the  Snake  village.  The 
next  day  at  noon  found  them  a  hundred  and  fifty  miles  on 
their  way  to  camp.  Proceeding  without  further  accident, 
they  crossed  the  Teton  Mountains,  and  joined  the  com- 
pany at  Pierre's  Hole,  after  an  absence  of  nearly  four 
months. 

Here  they  found  the  ubiquitous  if  not  omnipresent 
American  Fur  Company  encamped  at  the  rendezvous  of 
the  Rocky  Mountain  Company.     The  partners  being  anx 


108  AN    OBSTINATE    RIVAL. 

ious  to  be  freed  from  this  sort  of  espionage,  and  obstinate 
competition  on  their  own  ground,  made  a  proposition  to 
Yanderburg  and  Dripps  to  divide  the  country  with  them, 
each  company  to  keep  on  its  own  territory.  This  proposi- 
tion was  refused  by  the  American  Company ;  perhaps  be- 
cause they  feared  having  the  poorer  portion  set  off  to 
themselves  by  their  more  experienced  rivals.  On  this  re- 
fusal, the  Rocky  Mountain  Company  determined  to  send 
an  express  to  meet  Capt.  William  Sublette,  who  was  on 
his  way  out  with  a  heavy  stock  of  merchandise,  and  hurry 
him  forward,  lest  the  American  Company  should  have  the 
opportunity  of  disposing  of  its  goods,  when  the  usual 
gathering  to  rendezvous  began.  On  this  decision  being 
formed,  Fitzpatrick  determined  to  go  on  this  errand  him- 
self; which  he  accordingly  did,  falling  in  with  Sublette, 
and  Campbell,  his  associate,  somewhere  near  the  Black 
Hills.  To  them  he  imparted  his  wishes  and  designs,  and 
receiving  the  assurance  of  an  early  arrival  at  rendezvous, 
parted  from  them  at  the  Sweetwater,  and  hastened  back, 
alone,  as  he  came,  to  prepare  for  business. 

Captain  Sublette  hurried  forward  with  his  train,  which 
consisted  of  sixty  men  with  pack-horses,  three  to  a  man. 
In  company  with  him,  was  Mr.  Nathaniel  Wyeth,  a  history 
of  whose  fur-trading  and  salmon-fishing  adventures  has 
already  been  given.  Captain  Sublette  had  fallen  in  with 
Mr.  Wyeth  at  Independence,  Missouri;  and  finding  him 
ignorant  of  the  undertaking  on  which  he  was  launched, 
offered  to  become  pilot  and  traveling  companion,  an  offer 
which  was  gratefully  accepted. 

The  caravan  had  reached  the  foot-hills  of  the  Wind 
River  Mountains,  when  the  raw  recruits  belonging  to  both 
these  parties  were  treated  to  a  slight  foretaste  of  what 
Indian  fighting  would  be,  should  they  ever  have  to  en- 
counter it.     Their  camp  was  suddenly  aroused  at  midnight 


fitzpatrick's  adventure  in  the  mountains.      109 

by  the  simultaneous  discharge  of  guns  and  arrows,  and 
the  frightful  whoops  and  yells  with  which  the  savages 
make  an  attack.  Nobody  was  wounded,  however;  but 
on  springing  to  arms,  the  Indians  fled,  taking  with  them 
a  few  horses  which  their  yells  had  frightened  from  their 
pickets.  These  marauders  were  Blackfeet,  as  Captain 
Sublette  explained  to  Mr.  Wyeth,  their  moccasin  tracks 
having  betrayed  them ;  for  as  each  tribe  has  a  peculiar 
way  of  making  or  shaping  the  moccasin,  the  expert  in 
Indian  habits  can  detect  the  nationality  of  an  Indian  thief 
by  his  foot-print.  After  this  episode  of  the  night  assault, 
the  leaders  redoubled  their  watchfulness,  and  reached 
their  destination  in  Pierre's  hole  about  the  first  of  July. 

When  Sublette  arrived  in  camp,  it  was  found  that  Fitz- 
patrick  was  missing.  If  the  other  partners  had  believed 
him  to  be  with  the  Captain,  the  Captain  expected  to  find 
him  with  them ;  but  since  neither  could  account  to  the 
other  for  his  non-appearance,  much  anxiety  was  felt,  and 
Sublette  remembered  with  apprehension  the  visit  he  had 
received  from  Blackfeet.  However,  before  anything  had 
been  determined  upon  with  regard  to  him,  he  made  his 
appearance  in  camp,  in  company  with  two  Iroquois  half- 
breeds,  belonging  to  the  camp,  who  had  been  out  on  a 
hunt. 

Fitzpatrick  had  met  with  an  adventure,  as  had  been 
conjectured.  While  coming  up  the  Green  river  valley, 
he  descried  a  small  party  of  mounted  men,  whom  he  mis- 
took for  a  company  of  trappers,  and  stopped  to  recon- 
noitre ;  but  almost  at  the  same  moment  the  supposed 
trappers,  perceiving  him,  set  up  a  yell  that  quickly  unde- 
ceived him,  and  compelled  him  to  flight  Abandoning 
his  pack-horse,  he  put  the  other  to  its  topmost  speed 
and  succeeded  in  gaining  the  mountains,  where  in  a  deep 
and  dark  defile  he  secreted  himself  until  he  judged  the 


110  ROUGH    SPORTS. 

Indians  had  left  that  part  of  the  valley.  In  this  he  was 
deceived,  for  no  sooner  did  he  emerge  again  into  the  open 
country,  than  he  was  once  more  pursued,  and  had  to 
abandon  his  horse,  to  take  refuge  among  the  cliffs  of  the 
mountains.  Here  he  remained  for  several  days,  without 
blankets  or  provisions,  and  with  only  one  charge  of  am- 
munition, which  was  in  his  rifle,  and  kept  for  self-defense. 
At  length,  however,  by  frequent  reconnoitering,  he  man- 
aged to  elude  his  enemies,  traveling  by  night,  until  he 
fortunately  met  with  the  two  hunters  from  camp,  and  was 
conveyed  by  them  to  the  rendezvous. 

All  the  parties  were  now  safely  in.  The  lonely  moun- 
tain valley  was  populous  with  the  different  camps.  The 
Rocky  Mountain  and  American  companies  had  their  sep- 
arate camps ;  Wyeth  had  his ;  a  company  of  free  trappers, 
fifteen  in  number,  led  by  a  man  named  Sinclair,  from  Ar- 
kansas, had  the  fourth ;  the  Nez  Perces  and  Flatheads,  the 
allies  of  the  Rocky  Mountain  company,  and  the  friends  of 
the  whites,  had  their  lodges  along  all  the  streams ;  so  that 
altogether  there  could  not  have  been  less  than  one  thou- 
sand souls,  and  two  or  three  thousand  horses  and  mules 
gathered  in  this  place. 

"When  the  pie  was  opened  then  the  birds  began  to 
sing."  When  Captain  Sublette's  goods  were  opened  and 
distributed  among  the  trappers  and  Indians,  then  began 
the  usual  gay  carousal;  and  the  "fast  young  men"  of  the 
mountains  outvied  each  other  in  all  manner  of  mad  pranks. 
In  the  beginning  of  their  spree  many  feats  of  horseman- 
ship and  personal  strength  were  exhibited,  which  were 
regarded  with  admiring  wonder  by  the  sober  and  inexpe- 
rienced New  Englanders  under  Mr.  Wyeth's  command. 
And  as  nothing  stimulated  the  vanity  of  the  mountain- 
men  like  an  audience  of  this  sort,  the  feats  they  performed 
were  apt  to  astonish  themselves.     In  exhibitions  of  the 


A    MAX    ON    FIRE AN    EXPEDITION    TO    THE    SOUTH-WEST.   Ill 

kind,  the  free  trappers  took  the  lead,  and  usually  carried 
off  the  palm,  like  the  privileged  class  that  they  were. 

But  the  horse-racing,  fine  riding,  wrestling,  and  all  the 
manlier  sports,  soon  degenerated  into  the  baser  exhibi- 
tions of  a  "crazy  drunk  "  condition.  The  vessel  in  which 
the  trapper  received  and  carried  about  his  supply  of  alco- 
hol was  one  of  the  small  camp  kettles.  "  Passing  round  " 
this  clumsy  goblet  very  freely,  it  was  not  long  before  a 
goodly  number  were  in  the  condition  just  named,  and 
ready  for  any  mad  freak  whatever.  It  is  reported  by  sev. 
eral  of  the  mountain-men  that  on  the  occasion  of  one  of 
these  "frolics,"  one  of  their  number  seized  a  kettle  of  al- 
cohol, and  poured  it  over  the  head  of  a  tall,  lank,  red- 
headed fellow,  repeating  as  he  did  so  the  baptismal  cere- 
mony. No  sooner  had  he  concluded,  than  another  man 
with  a  lighted  stick,  touched  him  with  the  blaze,  when  in 
an  instant  he  was  enveloped  in  flames.  Luckily  some  of 
the  company  had  sense  enough  left  to  perceive  his  danger, 
and  began  beating  him  with  pack-saddles  to  put  out  the 
blaze.  But  between  the  burning  and  the  beating,  the 
unhappy  wretch  nearly  lost  his  life,  and  never  recovered 
from  the  effects  of  his  baptism  by  fire. 

Beaver  being  plenty  in  camp,  business  was  correspond- 
ingly lively,  there  being  a  great  demand  for  goods.  When 
this-  demand  was  supplied,  as  it  was  in  the  course  of  about 
three  weeks,  the  different  brigades  were  set  in  motion. 
One  of  the  earliest  to  move  was  a  small  party  under  Mil- 
ton Sublette,  including  his  constant  companion,  Meek. 
With  this  company,  no  more  than  thirty  in  number,  Sub- 
lette intended  to  explore  the  country  to  the  south-west, 
then  unknown  to  the  fur  companies,  and  to  proceed  as  far 
as  the  Humboldt  river  in  that  direction. 

On  the  17th  of  July  they  set  out  toward  the  south  end 
of  the  valley,  and  having  made  but  about  eight  miles  the 


112  BLACKFEET   CARAVAN PEACEFUL   OVERTURES. 

first  day,  camped  that  night  near  a  pass  in  the  mountains. 
Wyeth's  party  of  raw  New  Englanders,  and  Sinclair's  free 
trappers,  had  joined  themselves  to  the  company  of  Milton 
Sublette,  and  swelled  the  number  in  camp  to  about 
sixty  men,  many  of  them  new  to  the  business  of  mountain 
life. 

Just  as  the  men  were  raising  camp  for  a  start  the  next 
morning,  a  caravan  was  observed  moving  down  the  moun- 
tain pass  into  the  valley.  No  alarm  was  at  first  felt,  as  an 
arrival  was  daily  expected  of  one  of  the  American  com- 
pany's partisans,  Mr.  Fontenelle,  and  his  company.  But 
on  reconnoitering  with  a  glass,  Sublette  discovered  them 
to  be  a  large  party  of  Blackfeet,  consisting  of  a  few 
mounted  men,  and  many  more,  men,  women,  and  children, 
on  foot.  At  the  instant  they  were  discovered,  they  set  up 
the  usual  yell  of  defiance,  and  rushed  down  like  a  moun- 
tain torrent  into  the  valley,  flourishing  their  weapons,  and 
fluttering  their  gay  blankets  and  feathers  in  the  wind. 
There  was  no  doubt  as  to  the  warlike  intentions  of  the 
Blackfeet  in  general,  nor  was  it  for  a  moment  to  be  sup- 
posed that  any  peaceable  overture  on  their  part  meant 
anything  more  than  that  they  were  not  prepared  to  fight  at 
that  particular  juncture ;  therefore  let  not  the  reader  judge 
too  harshly  of  an  act  which  under  ordinary  circumstances 
would  have  been  infamous.  In  Indian  fighting,  every 
man  is  his  own  leader,  and  the  bravest  take  the  front 
rank.  On  this  occasion  there  were  two  of  Sublette's  men, 
one  a  half-breed  Iroquois,  the  other  a  Flathead  Indian, 
who  had  wrongs  of  their  own  to  avenge,  and  they  never 
let  slip  a  chance  of  killing  a  Blackfoot.  These  two  men 
rode  forth  alone  to  meet  the  enemy,  as  if  to  hold  a  "talk" 
with  the  principal  chief,  who  advanced  to  meet  them, 
bearing  the  pipe  of  peace.  When  the  chief  extended 
his  hand,  Antonio  Godin,  the  half-breed,  took  it,  but  at  the 


A    BATTLE REINFORCEMENTS.  113 

same  moment  he  ordered  the  Flathead  to  fire,  and  the 
chief  fell  dead.  The  two  trappers  galloped  back  to  camp, 
Antoine  bearing  for  a  trophy  the  scarlet  blanket  of  his 
enemy. 

This  action  made  it  impossible  to  postpone  the  battle, 
as  the  dead  chief  had  meant  to  do  by  peaceful  overtures, 
until  the  warriors  of  his  nation  came  up.  The  Blackfeet 
immediately  betook  themselves  to  a  swamp  formed  by  an 
old  beaver  dam,  and  thickly  overgrown  with  cotton-wood 
and  willow,  matted  together  with  tough  vines.  On  the 
edge  of  this  dismal  covert  the  warriors  skulked,  and  shot 
with  their  guns  and  arrows,  while  in  its  very  midst  the 
women  employed  themselves  in  digging  a  trench  and 
throwing  up  a  breastwork  of  logs,  and  whatever  came  to 
hand.  Such  a  defence  as  the  thicket  afforded  was  one  not 
easy  to  attack ;  its  unseen  but  certain  dangers  being  suffi- 
cient to  appal  the  stoutest  heart. 

Meantime,  an  express  had  been  sent  off  to  inform  Cap- 
tain Sublette  of  the  battle,  and  summon  assistance.  Sin- 
clair and  his  free  trappers,  with  Milton  Sublette's  small 
company,  were  the  only  fighting  men  at  hand.  Mr.  Wyeth, 
knowing  the  inefficiency  of  his  men  in  an  Indian  fight, 
had  them  entrenched  behind  their  packs,  and  there  left 
them  to  take  care  of  themselves,  but  charged  them  not  to 
appear  in  open  field.  As  for  the  fighting  men,  they  sta- 
tioned themselves  in  a,  ravine,  where  they  could  occasion- 
ally pick  off  a  Blackfoot,  and  waited  for  reinforcements. 

Great  was  the  astonishment  of  the  Blackfeet,  who  be- 
lieved they  had  only  Milton  Sublette's  camp  to  fight,  when 
they  beheld  first  one  party  of  white  men  and  then  an- 
other ;  and  not  only  whites,  but  Nez  Perces  and  Flatheads 
came  galloping  up  the  valley.  If  before  it  had  been  a 
battle  to  destroy  the  whites,  it  was  now  a  battle  to  defend 
themselves.     Previous  to  the  arrival  of  Captain  Sublette, 


114  DEATH    OF    SINCLAIR. 

the  opposing  forces  had  kept  up  only  a  scattering  fire,  in 
which  nobody  on  the  side  of  the  trappers  had  been  either 
killed  or  wounded.  But  when  the  impetuous  captain 
arrived  on  the  battle-field,  he  prepared  for  less  guarded 
warfare.  Stripped  as  if  for  the  prize-ring,  and  armed 
cap-a-pie,  he  hastened  to  the  scene  of  action,  accompanied 
by  his  intimate  friend  and  associate  in  business,  Robert 
Campbell. 

At  sight  of  the  reinforcements,  and  their  vigorous 
movements,  the  Indians  at  the  edge  of  the  swamp  fell 
back  within  their  fort.  To  dislodge  them  was  a  danger- 
ous undertaking,  but  Captain  Sublette  was  determined  to 
make  the  effort.  Finding  the  trappers  generally  disin- 
clined to  enter  the  thicket,  he  set  the  example,  together 
with  Campbell,  and  thus  induced  some  of  the  free  trap- 
pers, with  their  leader,  Sinclair,  to  emulate  his  action. 
However,  the  others  took  courage  at  this,  and  advanced 
near  the  swamp,  firing  at  random  at  their  invisible  foe, 
who,  having  the  advantage  of  being  able  to  see  them,  in- 
flicted some  wounds  on  the  party. 

The  few  white  "braves"  who  had  resolved  to  enter  the 
swamp,  made  their  wills  as  they  went,  feeling  that  they 
were  upon  perilous  business.  Sublette,  Campbell,  and 
Sinclair  succeeded  in  penetrating  the  thicket  without 
alarming  the  enemy,  and  came  at  length  to  a  more  open 
space  from  whence  they  could  get  a  view  of  the  fort. 
From  this  they  learned  that  the  women  and  children  had 
retired  to  the  mountains,  and  that  the  fort  was  a  slight 
affair,  covered  with  buffalo  robes  and  blankets  to  keep  out 
prying  eyes.  Moving  slowly  on,  some  slight  accident 
{ betrayed  their  vicinity,  and  the  next  moment  a  shot  struck 
Sinclair,  wounding  him  mortally.  He  spoke  to  Campbell, 
requesting  to  be  taken  to  his  brother.  By  this  time  some 
of  the  men  had  come  up,  and  he  was  given  in  charge  to 


SUBLETTE    WOUNDED. A   FALSE   ALARM.  115 

be  taken  back  to  camp.  Sublette  then  pressed  forward, 
and  seeing  an  Indian  looking  through  an  aperture,  aimed 
at  him  with  fatal  effect.  No  sooner  had  he  done  so,  and 
pointed  out  the  opening  to  Campbell,  than  he  was  struck 
with  a  ball  in  the  shoulder,  which  nearly  prostrated  him, 
and  turned  him  so  faint  that  Campbell  took  him  in  his 
arms  and  carried  him,  assisted  by  Meek,  out  of  the  swamp. 
At  the  same  time  one  of  the  men  received  a  wound  in  the 
head.  The  battle  was  now  carried  on  with  spirit,  although 
from  the  difficulty  of  approaching  the  fort,  the  firing  was 
very  irregular. 

The  mountaineers  who  followed  Sublette,  took  up  their 
station  in  the  woods  on  one  side  of  the  fort,  and  the  Nez 
Perces,  under  Wyeth,  on  the  opposite  side,  which  acci- 
dental arrangement,  though  it  was  fatal  to  many  of  the 
Blackfeet  in  the  fort,  was  also  the  occasion  of  loss  to 
themselves  by  the  cross-fire.  The  whites  being  constantly 
reinforced  by  fresh  arrivals  from  the  rendezvous,  were 
soon  able  to  silence  the  guns  of  the  enemy,  but  they  were 
not  able  to  drive  them  from  their  fort,  where  they  re- 
mained sileDt  and  sullen  after  their  ammunition  was  ex- 
hausted. 

Seeing  that  the  women  of  the  Nez  Perces  and  Flat- 
heads  were  gathering  up  sticks  to  set  fire  to  their  breast- 
work of  logs,  an  old  chief  proclaimed  in  a  loud  voice 
from  within,  the  startling  intelligence  that  there  were 
four  hundred  lodges  of  his  people  close  at  hand,  who 
would  soon  be  there  to  avenge  their  deaths,  should  the 
whites  choose  to  reduce  them  to  ashes.  This  harangue, 
delivered' in  the  usual  high-flown  style  of  Indian  oratory, 
either  was  not  clearly  understood,  or  was  wrongly  inter- 
preted, and  the  impression  got  abroad  that  an  attack  was 
being  made  on  the  great  encampment.  This  intelligence 
occasioned  a  diversion,  and  a  division  of  forces  ;  for  while 


116  AN   EMPTY    FORT. 

a  small  party  was  left  to  watch  the  fort,  the  rest  galloped 
in  hot  haste  to  the  rescue  of  the  main  camp.  When  they 
arrived,  they  found  it  had  been  a  false  alarm,  but  it  was 
too  late  to  return  that  night,  and  the  several  camps  re- 
mained where  they  were  until  the  next  day. 

Meantime  the  trappers  left  to  guard  the  fort  remained 
stationed  within  the  wood  all  night,  firmly  believing  they 
had  their  enemy  "corraled,"  as  the  horsemen  of  the 
plains  would  say.  On  the  return,  in  the  morning,  of  their 
comrades  from  the  main  camp,  they  advanced  cautiously 
up  to  the  breastwork  of  logs,  and  behold !  not  a  buffalo 
skin  nor  red  blanket  was  to  be  seen !  Through  the  crevi- 
ces among  the  logs  was  seen  an  empty  fort.  On  making 
this  discovery  there  was  much  chagrin  among  the  white 
trappers,  and  much  lamentation  among  the  Indian  allies, 
who  had  abandoned  the  burning  of  the  fort  expressly  to 
save  for  themselves  the  fine  blankets  and  other  goods  of 
their  hereditary  foes. 

From  the  reluctance  displayed  by  the  trappers,  in  the 
beginning  of  the  battle,  to  engage  with  the  Indians  while 
under  cover  of  the  woods,  it  must  not  be  inferred  that 
they  were  lacking  in  courage.  They  were  too  well  in- 
formed in  Indian  modes  of  warfare  to  venture  recklessly 
into  the  den  of  death,  which  a  savage  ambush  was  quite 
sure  to  be.  The  very  result  which  attended  the  impetu- 
osity of  their  leaders,  in  the  death  of  Sinclair  and  the 
wounding  of  Captain  Sublette,  proved  them  not  over 
cautious. 

On  entering  the  fort,  the  dead  bodies  of  ten  Blackfeet 
were  found,  besides  others  dead  outside  the  fort,  and  over 
thirty  horses,  some  of  which  were  recognized  as  those 
stolen  from  Sublette's  night  camp  on  the  other  side  of 
the  mountains,  besides  those  abandoned  by  Fitzpatrick. 
Doubtless  the  rascals  had  followed  his  trail  to  Pierre's 


THE   BLACKFOOT    WOMAN.  117 

Hole,  not  thinking,  however,  to  come  upon  so  large  a 
camp  as  they  found  at  last.  The  savage  garrison  which 
had  so  cunningly  contrived  to  elude  the  guard  set  upon 
them,  carried  off  some  of  their  wounded,  and,  perhaps,  also 
some  of  their  dead ;  for  they  acknowledged  afterwards  a 
much  larger  loss  than  appeared  at  the  time.  Besides  Sin- 
clair, there  were  five  other  white  men  killed,  one  half- 
breed,  and  seven  Nez  Perces.  About  the  same  number 
of  whites  and  their  Indian  allies  were  wounded. 

An  instance  of  female  devotion  is  recorded  by  Bonne- 
ville's historian  as  having  occurred  at  this  battle.  On  the 
morning  following  it,  as  the  whites  were  exploring  the 
thickets  about  the  fort,  they  discovered  a  Blackfoot 
woman  leaning  silent  and  motionless  against  a  tree.  Ac- 
cording to  Mr.  Irving,  whose  fine  feeling  for  the  sex 
would  incline  him  to  put  faith  in  this  bit  of  romance, 
"  their  surprise  at  her  lingering  here  alone,  to  fall  into  the 
hands  of  her  enemies,  was  dispelled  when  they  saw  the 
corpse  of  a  warrior  at  her  feet.  Either  she  was  so  lost  in 
grief  as  not  to  perceive  their  approach,  or  a  proud  spirit 
kept  her  silent  and  motionless.  The  Indians  set  up  a  yell 
on  discovering  her,  and  before  the  trappers  could  inter- 
fere, her  mangled  body  fell  upon  the  corpse  which  she  had 
refused  to  abandon."  This  version  is  true  in  the  main  in- 
cidents, but  untrue  in  the  sentiment.  The  woman's  leg 
had  been  broken  by  a  ball,  and  she  was  unable  to  move 
from  the  spot  where  she  leaned.  When  the  trappers  ap- 
proached her,  she  stretched  out  her  hands  supplicatingly, 
crying  out  in  a  wailing  voice,  "  kill  me !  kill  me !  0  white 
men,  kill  me !  " — but  this  the  trappers  had  no  disposition 
to  do.  While  she  was  entreating  them,  and  they  refusing, 
a  ball  from  some  veugeful  Nez  Perce  or  Flathead  put  an 
end  to  her  sufferings. 

Still  remembering  the  threats  of  the  Blackfoot  chief, 


118  AN   EXPECTED   BATTLE. 

that  four  hundred  lodges  of  his  brethren  were  advancing 
on  the  valley,  all  the  companies  returned  to  rendezvous, 
and  remained  for  several  days,  to  see  whether  an  attack 
should  take  place.  But  if  there  had  ever  been  any  such 
intention  on  the  part  of  the  Blackfoot  nation,  the  timely 
lesson  bestowed  on  their  advance  guard  had  warned  them 
to  quit  the  neighborhood  of  the  whites. 

Captain  Sublette's  wound  was  dressed  by  Mr.  Wyeth's 
physician,  and  although  it  hindered  his  departure  for  St. 
Louis  for  some  time,  it  did  not  prevent  his  making  his 
usual  journey  later  in  the  season.  It  was  as  well,  per- 
haps, that  he  did  not  set  out  earlier,  for  of  a  party  of 
seven  who  started  for  St.  Louis  a  few  days  after  the  battle, 
three  were  killed  in  Jackson's  Hole,  where  they  fell  in 
with  the  four  hundred  warriors  with  whom  the  Blackfoot 
chief  threatened  the  whites  at  the  battle  of  Pierre's  Hole. 
From  the  story  of  the  four  survivors  who  escaped  and  re- 
turned to  camp,  there  could  no  longer  be  any  doubt  that 
the  big  village  of  the  Blackfeet  had  actually  been  upon 
the  trail  of  Capt.  Sublette,  expecting  an  easy  victory 
when  they  should  overtake  him.  How  they  were  disap- 
pointed by  the  reception  met  with  by  the  advance  camp, 
has  already  been  related. 


CHAPTER    VII. 

1832.  On  the  23d  of  July,  Milton  Sublette's  brigade 
and  the  company  of  Mr.  Wyeth  again  set  out  for  the 
southwest,  and  met  no  more  serious  interruptions  while 
they  traveled  in  company.  On  the  head-waters  of  the 
Humboldt  River  they  separated,  Wyeth  proceeding  north 
to  the  Columbia,  and  Sublette  continuing  on  into  a  coun- 
try hitherto  untraversed  by  American  trappers. 

It  was  the  custom  of  a  camp  on  the  move  to  depend 
chiefly  on  the  men  employed  as  hunters  to  supply  them 
with  game,  the  sole  support  of  the  mountaineers.  When 
this  failed,  the  stock  on  hand  was  soon  exhausted,  and  the 
men  reduced  to  famine.  This  was  what  happened  to 
Sublette's  company  in  the  country  where  they  now  found 
themselves,  between  the  Owyhee  and  Humboldt  Rivers. 
Owing  to  the  arid  and  barren  nature  of  these  plains,  the 
largest  game  to  be  found  was  the  beaver,  whose  flesh 
proved  to  be  poisonous,  from  the  creature  having  eaten 
of  the  wild  parsnip  in  the  absence  of  its  favorite  food. 
The  men  were  made  ill  by  eating  of  beaver  flesh,  and  the 
horses  were  greatly  reduced  from  the  scarcity  of  grass 
and  the  entire  absence  of  the  cotton-wood. 

In  this  plight  Sublette  found  himself,  and  finally  re- 
solved to  turn  north,  in  the  hope  of  coming  upon  some 
better  and  more  hospitable  country.  The  sufferings  of 
the  men  now  became  terrible,  both  from  hunger  and 
thirst.  In  the  effort  to  appease  the  former,  everything 
was  eaten  that  could  be  eaten,  and  many  things  at  which 


120         TERRIBLE    SUFFERING    FROM   HUNGER   AND    THIRST. 

the  well-fed  man  would  sicken  with  disgust.  "I  have," 
says  Joe  Meek,  "held  my  hands  in  an  ant-hill  until  they 
were  covered  with  the  ants,  then  greedily  licked  them  off. 
I  have  taken  the  soles  off  my  moccasins,  crisped  them  in 
the  fire,  and  eaten  them.  In  our  extremity,  the  large 
black  crickets  which  are  found  in  this  country  were  con- 
sidered game.  We  used  to  take  a  kettle  of  hot  water, 
catch  the  crickets  and  throw  them  in,  and  when  they 
stopped  kicking,  eat  them.  That  was  not  what  we  called 
cant  tickup  Jco  hanch,  (good  meat,  my  friend),  but  it  kept 
us  alive." 

Equally  abhorrent  expedients  were  resorted  to  in  order 
to  quench  thirst,  some  of  which  would  not  bear  mention. 
In  this  condition,  and  exposed  to  the  burning  suns  and 
the  dry  air  of  the  desert,  the  men  now  so  nearly  exhausted 
began  to  prey  upon  their  almost  equally  exhausted  ani- 
mals. At  night  when  they  made  their  camp,  by  mutual 
consent  a  mule  was  bled,  and  a  soup  made  from  its  blood. 
About  a  pint  was  usually  taken,  when  two  or  three  would 
mess  together  upon  this  reviving,  but  scanty  and  not  very 
palatable  dish.  But  this  mode  of  subsistence  could  not 
be  long  depended  on,  as  the  poor  mules  could  ill  afford  to 
lose  blood  in  their  famishing  state ;  nor  could  the  men  af- 
ford to  lose  their  mules  where  there  was  a  chance  of  life : 
therefore  hungry  as  they  were,  the  men  were  cautious  in 
this  matter ;  and  it  generally  caused  a  quarrel  when  a  man's 
mule  was  selected  for  bleeding  by  the  others. 

A  few  times  a  mule  had  been  sacrificed  to  obtain  meat; 
and  in  this  case  the  poorest  one  was  always  selected,  so  as 
to  economise  the  chances  for  life  for  the  whole  band.  In 
this  extremity,  after  four  days  of  almost  total  abstinence 
and  several  weeks  of  famine,  the  company  reached  the 
Snake  River,  about  fifty  miles  above  the  fishing  falls,  where 
it  boils  and  dashes  over  the  rocks,  forming  very  strong 


THE    COUNTRY    OF    THE   DIGGERS.  121 

rapids.  Here  the  company  camped,  rejoiced  at  the  sight 
of  the  pure  mountain  water,  but  still  in  want  of  food. 
During  the  march  a  horse's  back  had  become  sore  from 
some  cause ;  probably,  his  rider  thought,  because  the  sad- 
dle did  not  set  well ;  and,  although  that  particular  animal 
was  selected  to  be  sacrificed  on  the  morrow,  as  one  that 
could  best  be  spared,  he  set  about  taking  the  stuffing  out 
of  his  saddle  and  re-arranging  the  padding.  While  en- 
gaged in  this  considerate  labor,  he  uttered  a  cry  of  delight 
and  held  up  to  view  a  large  brass  pin,  which  had  acciden- 
tally got  into  the  stuffing,  when  the  saddle  was  made,  and 
had  been  the  cause  of  all  the  mischief  to  his  horse. 

The  same  thought  struck  all  who  saw  the  pin :  it  was 
soon  converted  into  a  fish-hook,  a  line  was  spun  from  horse- 
hair, and  in  a  short  time  there  were  trout  enough  caught 
to  furnish  them  a  hearty  and  a  most  delicious  repast.  "In 
the  morning,"  says  Meek,  "we  went  on  our  way  rejoicing ;" 
each  man  with  the  "five  fishes"  tied  to  his  saddle,  if  with- 
out any  "loaves."  This  was  the  end  of  their  severest  suf- 
fering, as  they  had  now  reached  a  country  where  absolute 
starvation  was  not  the  normal  condition  of  the  inhabitants; 
and  which  was  growing  more  and  more  bountiful,  as  they 
neared  the  Rocky  Mountains,  where  they  at  length  joined 
camp,  not  having  made  a  very  profitable  expedition. 

It  may  seem  incredible  to  the  reader  that  any  country 
so  poor  as  that  in  which  our  trappers  starved  could  have 
native  inhabitants.  Yet  such  was  the  fact ;  and  the  peo- 
ple who  lived  in  and  who  still  inhabit  this  barren  waste, 
were  called  Diggers,  from  their  mode  of  obtaining  their 
food — a  few  edible  roots  growing  in  low  grounds,  or  marshy 
places.  When  these  fail  them  they  subsist  as  did  our  trap- 
pers, by  hunting  crickets  and  field  mice. 

Nothing  can  be  more  abject  than  the  appearance  of  the 
Digger  Indian,  in  the  fall,  as  he  roams  about,  without  food 


122  SOME    ACCOUNT    OF    THE    DIGGERS 

and  without  weapons,  save  perhaps  a  bow  and  arrows, 
with  his  eyes  fixed  upon  the  ground,  looking  for  crickets! 
So  despicable  is  he,  that  he  has  neither  enemies  nor  friends ; 
and  the  neighboring  tribes  do  not  condescend  to  notice  his 
existence,  unless  indeed  he  should  come  in  their  way, 
when  they  would  not  think  it  more  than  a  mirthful  act  to 
put  an  end  to  his  miserable  existence.  And  so  it  must  be 
confessed  the  trappers  regarded  him.  When  Sublette's 
party  first  struck  the  Humboldt,  Wyeth's  being  still  with 
them,  Joe  Meek  one  day  shot  a  Digger  who  was  prowling 
about  a  stream  where  his  traps  were  set. 

"  Why  did  you  shoot  him  ?  "  asked  Wyeth. 

"To  keep  him  from  stealing  traps." 

"  Had  he  stolen  any  ?  " 

"  No :  but  he  looked  as  if  he  was  going  to  !  " 

This  recklessness  of  life  very  properly  distressed  the  just 
minded  New  Englander.  Yet  it  was  hard  for  the  trappers 
to  draw  lines  of  distinction  so  nice  as  his.  If  a  tribe  was 
not  known  to  be  friendly,  it  was  a  rule  of  necessity  to  con- 
sider it  unfriendly.  The  abjectness  and  cowardice  of  the 
Diggers  was  the  fruit  of  their  own  helpless  condition.  That 
they  had  the  savage  instinct,  held  in  check  only  by  cir- 
cumstances, was  demonstrated  about  the  same  time  that 
Meek  shot  one,  by  his  being  pursued  by  four  of  them  when 
out  trapping  alone,  and  only  escaping  at  last  by  the  assis- 
tance of  one  of  his  comrades  who  came  to  the  rescue. 
They  could  not  fight,  like  the  Crows  and  Blackfeet,  but 
they  could  steal  and  murder,  when  they  had  a  safe  oppor- 
tunity. 

It  would  be  an  interesting  study,  no  doubt,  to  the  phi- 
lanthropist, to  ascertain  in  how  great  a  degree  the  habits, 
manners,  and  morals  of  a  people  are  governed  by  their 
resources,  especially  by  the  quality  and  quantity  of  their 


COMPARISON    OF    TRIBES.  125 

diet.     But  when  diet  and  climate  are  both  taken  into  con- 
sideration, the  result  is  striking. 

The  character  of  the  Blackfeet  who  inhabited  the  good 
hunting  grounds  on  the  eastern  side  of  the  Rocky  Mountains, 
is  already  pretty  well  given.  They  were  tall,  sinewy,  well- 
made  fellows ;  good  horsemen,  and  good  fighters,  though 
inclined  to  marauding  and  murdering.  They  dressed  com- 
fortably and  even  handsomely,  as  dress  goes  amongst  sava- 
ges, and  altogether  were  more  to  be  feared  than  despised. 

The  Crows  resembled  the  Blackfeet,  whose  enemies  they 
were,  in  all  the  before-mentioned  traits,  but  were  if  pos- 
sible, even  more  predatory  in  their  habits.  Unlike  the 
Blackfeet,  however,  they  were  not  the  enemies  of  all 
mankind ;  and  even  were  disposed  to  cultivate  some  friend- 
liness with  the  white  traders  and  trappers,  in  order,  as 
they  acknowledged,  to  strengthen  their  own  hands 
against  the  Blackfeet.  They  too  inhabited  a  good  coun- 
try, full  of  game,  and  had  horses  in  abundance.  These 
were  the  mountain  tribes. 

Comparing  these  with  the  coast  tribes,  there  was  a  strik- 
ing difference.  The  natives  of  the  Columbia  were  not  a 
tall  and  robust  people,  like  those  east  of  the  Rocky  Moun- 
tains, who  lived  by  hunting.  Their  height  rarely  exceeded 
five  feet  six  inches ;  their  forms  were  good,  rather  inclin- 
ing to  fatness,  their  faces  round,  features  coarse,  but 
complexion  light,  and  their  eyes  large  and  intelligent. 
The  custom  of  flattening  their  heads  in  infancy  gave  them 
a  grotesque  and  unnatural  appearance,  otherwise  they 
could  not  be  called  ill-looking.  On  the  first  advent  of 
white  men  among  them,  they  were  accustomed  to  go  en- 
tirely naked,  except  in  winter,  when  a  panther  skin,  or  a 
mantle  of  other  skins  sewed  together,  served  to  protect 
them  from  the  cold :  or  if  the  weather  was  rainy,  as  it 
generally  was  in  that  milder  climate,  a  long  mantle  of  rush 


124  THE    INDIANS    OF    THE    LOWER    COLUMBIA. 

mats,  like  the  toga  of  the  ancient  Romans,  took  the  place 
of  that  made  of  skins.  To  this  was  added  a  conical  hat, 
woven  of  fibrous  roots,  and  gaily  painted. 

For  defensive  armor  they  were  provided  with  a  tunic 
of  elkskin  double,  descending  to  the  ankles,  with  holes  in, 
it  for  the  arms,  and  quite  impenetrable  to  arrows.  A  hel- 
met of  similar  material  covered  the  head,  rendering  them 
like  Achilles,  invulnerable  except  in  the  heels.  In  this 
secure  dress  they  went  to  battle  in  their  canoes,  notice 
being  first  given  to  the  enemy  of  the  intended  attack. 
Their  battles  might  therefore  be  termed  compound  duels, 
in  which  each  party  observed  great  punctiliousness  and 
decorum.  Painted  and  armor-encased,  the  warriors  in  two 
flotillas  of  canoes  were  rowed  to  the  battle  ground  by 
their  women,  when  the  battle  raged  furiously  for  some 
time ;  not,  however,  doing  any  great  harm  to  either  side. 
If  any  one  chanced  to  be  killed,  that  side  considered  itself 
beaten,  and  retired  from  the  conflict  to  mourn  over  and 
bury  the  estimable  and  departed  brave.  If  the  case  was  a 
stubborn  one,  requiring  several  days  fighting,  the  oppo- 
nents encamped  near  each  other,  keeping  up  a  confusion 
of  cries,  taunts,  menaces,  and  raillery,  during  the  whole 
night ;  after  which  they  resumed  the  conflict,  and  contin- 
ued it  until  one  was  beaten.  If  a  village  was  to  be  at- 
tacked, notice  being  received,  the  women  and  children 
were  removed ;  and  if  the  village  was  beaten  they  made 
presents  to  their  conquerors.  Such  were  the  decorous 
habits  of  the  warriors  of  the  lower  Columbia. 

These  were  the  people  who  lived  almost  exclusively  by 
fishing,  and  whose  climate  was  a  mild  and  moist  one.  Fish- 
ing, in  which  both  sexes  engaged  about  equally,  was  an  im- 
portant accomplishment,  since  it  was  by  fish  they  lived  in 
this  world ;  and  by  being  good  fishermen  that  they  had  hopes 
of  the  next  one.     The  houses  in  which  they  lived,  instead 


THEIR   HABITS,    CUSTOMS   AND    DRESS.  125 

of  being  lodges  made  of  buffalo  skins,  were  of  a  large 
size  and  very  well  constructed,  being  made  out  of  cedar 
planks.  An  excavation  was  first  made  in  the  earth  two  or 
three  feet  deep,  probably  to  secure  greater  warmth  in 
winter.  A  double  row  of  cedar  posts  was  then  planted 
firmly  all  round  the  excavation,  and  between  these  the 
planks  were  laid,  or,  sometimes  cedar  bark,  so  overlapped 
as  to  exclude  the  rain  and  wind.  The  ridge-pole  of  the 
roof  was  supported  on  a  row  of  taller  posts,  passing 
through  the  centre  of  the  building,  and  notched  to  receive 
it.  The  rafters  were  then  covered  with  planks  or  bark, 
fastened  down  with  ropes  made  of  the  fibre  of  the  cedar 
bark.  A  house  made  in  this  manner,  and  often  a  hundred 
feet  long  by  thirty  or  forty  wide,  accommodated  several 
families,  who  each  had  their  separate  entrance  and  fire- 
place ;  the  entrance  being  by  a  low  oval-shaped  door,  and 
a  flight  of  steps. 

The  canoes  of  these  people  were  each  cut  out  of  a  single 
log  of  cedar ;  and  were  often  thirty  feet  long  and  five 
wide  at  midships.  They  were  gaily  painted,  and  their 
shape  was  handsome,  with  a  very  long  bow  so  constructed 
as  to  cut  the  surf  in  landing  with  the  greatest  ease,  or  the 
more  readily  to  go  through  a  rough  sea.  The  oars  were 
about  five  feet  long,  and  bent  in  the  shape  of  a  crescent ; 
which  shape  enabled  them  to  draw  them  edgewise  through 
the  water  with  little  or  no  noise — this  noiselessness  being 
an  important  quality  in  hunting  the  sea  otter,  which  is 
always  caught  sleeping  on  the  rocks. 

The  single  instrument  which  sufficed  to  build  canoes 
and  houses  was  the  chisel ;  generally  being  a  piece  of  old 
iron  obtained  from  some  vessel  and  fixed  in  a  wooden 
handle.  A  stone  mallet  aided  them  in  using  the  chisel ; 
and  with  this  simple  "kit"  of  tools  they  contrived  to 
manufacture  plates,  bowls,  carved  oars,  and  many  orna- 
mental things. 


126  INDIAN    COMMERCE. 

Like  the  men  of  all  savage  nations,  they  made  slaves  of 
their  captives,  and  their  women.  The  dress  of  the  latter 
consisted  merely  of  a  short  petticoat,  manufactured  from 
the  fibre  of  the  cedar  bark,  previously  soaked  and  pre- 
pared. This  material  was  worked  into  a  fringe,  attached 
to  a  girdle,  and  only  long  enough  to  reach  the  middle  of 
the  thigh.  When  the  season  required  it,  they  added  a 
mantle  of  skins.  Their  bodies  were  anointed  with  fish-oil, 
and  sometimes  painted  with  red  ochre  in  imitation  of  the 
men.  For  ornaments  they  wore  strings  of  glass  beads, 
and  also  of  a  white  shell  found  on  the  northern  coast,  called 
haiqua.  Such  were  the  CMnooks,  who  lived  upon  the 
coast. 

Farther  up  the  river,  on  the  eastern  side  of  the  Cascade 
range  of  mountains,  a  people  lived,  the  same,  yet  different 
from  the  Chinooks.  They  resembled  them  in  form,  fea- 
tures, and  manner  of  getting  a  living.  But  they  were 
more  warlike  and  more  enterprising ;  they  even  had  some 
notions  of  commerce,  being  traders  between  the  coast 
Indians  and  those  to  the  east  of  them.  They  too  were 
great  fishermen,  but  used  the  net  instead  of  fishing  in 
boats.  Great  scaffoldings  were  erected  every  year  at  the 
narrows  of  the  Columbia,  known  as  the  Dalles,  where,  as 
the  salmon  passed  up  the  river  in  the  spring,  in  incredible 
numbers,  they  were  caught  and  dried.  After  drying,  the 
fish  were  then  pounded  fine  between  two  stones,  pressed 
tightly  into  packages  or  bales  of  about  a  hundred  pounds, 
covered  with  matting,  and  corded  up  for  transportation. 
The  bales  were  then  placed  in  storehouses  built  to  receive 
them,  where  they  awaited  customers. 

By  and  by  there  came  from  the  coast  other  Indians, 
with  different  varieties  of  fish,  to  exchange  for  the  salmon 
in  the  Wish-ram  warehouses.  And  by  and  by  there  came 
from  the  plains  to  the  eastward,  others  who  had  horses, 


THE    INDIANS    OF    THE    PLAINS.  127 

cauias-root,  bear-grass,  fur  robes,  and  whatever  constituted 
the  wealth  of  the  mountains  and  plains,  to  exchange  for 
the  rich  and  nutritious  salmon  of  the  Columbia.  These 
Wish-ram  Indians  were  sharp  traders,  and  usually  made 
something  by  their  exchanges;  so  that  they  grew  rich 
and  insolent,  and  it  was  dangerous  for  the  unwary 
stranger  to  pass  their  way.  Of  all  the  tribes  of  the  Co- 
lumbia, they  perpetrated  the  most  outrages  upon  their 
neighbors,  the  passing  traveler,  and  the  stranger  within 
their  gates. 

Still  farther  to  the  east,  on  the  great  grassy  plains,  wa- 
tered by  beautiful  streams,  coming  down  from  the  moun- 
tains, lived  the  Cayuses,  Yakimas,  Nez  Perces,  Wallah- 
Wallahs,  and  Flatheads ;  as  different  in  their  appearance 
and  habits  as  their  different  modes  of  living  would  nat- 
urally make  them.  Instead  of  having  many  canoes,  they 
had  many  horses ;  and  in  place  of  drawing  the  fishing  net, 
or  trolling  lazily  along  with  hook  and  line,  or  spearing 
fish  from  a  canoe,  they  rode  pell-mell  to  the  chase,  or  sal- 
lied out  to  battle  with  the  hostile  Blackfeet,  whose  country 
lay  between  them  and  the  good  hunting-grounds,  where 
the  great  herds  of  buffalo  were.  Being  Nimrods  by  na- 
ture, they  were  dressed  in  complete  suits  of  skins,  instead 
of  going  naked,  like  their  brethren  in  the  lower  country. 
Being  wandering  and  pastoral  in  their  habits,  they  lived 
in  lodges,  which  could  be  planted  every  night  and  raised 
,every  morning. 

Their  women,  too,  were  good  riders,  and  comfortably 
clad  in  dressed  skins,  kept  white  with  chalk.  So  wealthy 
were  some  of  the  chiefs  that  they  could  count  their  fifteen 
hundred  head  of  horses  grazing  on  their  grassy  uplands. 
Horse-racing  was  their  delight,  and  betting  on  them  their 
besetting  vice.  For  bridles  they  used  horse-hair  cords, 
attached  around  the  animal's  mouth.  This  was  sufficient 
9 


128  THE    HORSES    OF    THE    PLAINS. 

to  check  him,  and  by  laying  a  hand  on  this  side  or  that  of 
the  horse's  neck,  the  rider  could  wheel  him  in  either  direc- 
tion. The  simple  and  easy-fitting  saddle  was  a  stuffed 
deer-skin,  with  stirrups  of  wood,  resembling  in  shape  those 
used  by  the  Mexicans,  and  covered  with  deer-skin  sewed 
on  wet,  so  as  to  tighten  in  drying.  The  saddles  of  the 
women  were  furnished  with  a  pair  of  deer's  antlers  for  the 
pommel. 

In  many  things  their  customs  and  accoutrements  resem- 
bled those  of  the  Mexicans,  from  whom,  no  doubt,  they 
were  borrowed.  Like  the  Mexican,  they  threw  the  lasso 
to  catch  the  wild  horse.  Their  horses,  too,  were  of  Mex- 
ican stock,  and  many  of  them  bore  the  brand  of  that 
country,  having  been  obtained  in  some  of  their  not  infre- 
quent journeys  into  California  and  -New  Mexico. 

As  all  the  wild  horses  of  America  are  said  to  have 
sprung  from  a  small  band,  turned  loose  upon  the  plains 
by  Cortez,  it  would  be  interesting  to  know  at  what  time 
they  came  to  be  used  by  the  northern  Indians,  or  whether 
the  horse  and  the  Indian  did  not  emigrate  together.  If  the 
horse  came  to  the  Indian,  great  must  have  been  the  change 
effected  by  the  advent  of  this  new  element  in  the  savage's 
life.  It  is  impossible  to  conceive,  however,  that  the  In- 
dian ever  could  have  lived  on  these  immense  plains,  barren 
of  everything  but  wild  grass,  without  his  horse.  With 
him  he  does  well  enough,  for  he  not  only  "lives  on  horse- 
back," by  which  means  he  can  quickly  reach  a  country 
abounding  in  game,  but  he  literally  lives  on  horse-flesh, 
when  other  game  is  scarce. 

Curious  as  the  fact  may  seem,  the  Indians  at  the  mouth 
of  the  Columbia  and  those  of  New  Mexico  speak  languages 
similar  in  construction  to  that  of  the  Aztecs;  and  from 
this  fact,  and  the  others  before  mentioned,  it  may  be  very 
fairly  inferred  that  difference  of  circumstances  and  locali- 
ties have  made  of  the  different  tribes  what  they  are. 


.  the  Indian's  moral  nature.  129 

As  to  the  Indian's  moral  nature,  that  is  pretty  much  alike 
everywhere ;  and  with  some  rare  exceptions,  the  rarest  of 
which  is,  perhaps,  the  Flathead  and  Nez  Perces  nations, 
all  are  cruel,  thieving,  and  treacherous.  The  Indian  gos- 
pel is  literally  the  "gospel  of  blood";  an  "eye  for  an 
eye,  and  a  tooth  for  a  tooth."  Vengeance  is  as  much  a 
commandment  to  him  as  any  part  of  the  decalogue  is  to 
the  Christian.  But  we  have  digressed  far  from  our  narra- 
tive ;  and  as  it  will  be  necessary  to  refer  to  the  subject  of 
the  moral  code  of  savages  further  on  in  our  narrative,  we 
leave  it  for  the  present. 

After  the  incident  of  the  pin  and  the  fishes,  Sublette's 
party  kept  on  to  the  north,  coursing  along  up  Payette's 
River  to  Payette  Lake,  where  he  camped,  and  the  men 
went  out  trapping.  A  party  of  four,  consisting  of  Meek, 
Antoine  Godin,  Louis  Leaugar,  and  Small,  proceeded  to  the 
north  as  far  as  the  Salmon  river  and  beyond,  to  the  head 
of  one  of  its  tributaries,  where  the  present  city  of  Flor- 
ence is  located.  While  camped  in  this  region,  three  of 
the  men  went  out  one  day  to  look  for  their  horses,  which 
had  strayed  away,  or  been  stolen  by  the  Indians.  During 
their  absence,  Meek,  who  remained  in  camp,  had  killed  a 
fine  fat  deer,  and  was  cooking  a  portion  of  it,  when  he 
saw  a  band  of  about  a  hundred  Indians  approaching,  and 
so  near  were  they  that  flight  was  almost  certainly  useless ; 
yet  as  a  hundred  against  one  was  very  great  odds,  and 
running  away  from  them  would  not  increase  their  number, 
while  it  gave  him  something  to  do  in  his  own  defence,  he 
took  to  his  heels  and  ran  as  only  a  mountain-man  can  run. 
Instead,  however,  of  pursuing  him,  the  practical-minded 
braves  set  about  finishing  his  cooking  for  him,  and  soon 
had  the  whole  deer  roasting  before  the  fire. 

This  procedure  provoked  the  gastronomic  ire  of  our 
trapper,  and  after  watching  them  for  some  time  from  his 


130  A    TRAP    SET    FOR   A   RIVAL. 

hiding-place,  he  determined  to  return  and  share  the  feast. 
On  reaching  camp  again,  and  introducing  himself  to  his 
not  over-scrupulous  visitors,  he  found  they  were  from  the 
Nez  Perces  tribe  inhabiting  that  region,  who,  having  been 
so  rude  as  to  devour  his  stock  of  provisions,  invited  him 
to  accompany  them  to  their  village,  not  a  great  way  off, 
where  they  would  make  some  return  for  his  involuntary 
hospitality.  This  he  did,  and  there  found  his  three  com- 
rades and  all  their  horses.  While  still  visiting  at  the  Nez 
Perces  village,  they  were  joined  by  the  remaining  portion 
of  Sublette's  command,  when  the  whole  company  started 
south  again.  Passing  Payette's  lake  to  the  east,  traversing 
the  Boise  Basin,  going  to  the  head-waters  of  that  river, 
thence  to  the  Malade,  thence  to  Godin's  river,  and  finally 
to  the  forks  of  the  Salmon,  where  they  found  the  main 
camp.  Captain  Bonneville,  of  whose  three  years  wander- 
ings in  the  wilderness  Mr.  Irving  has  given  a  full  and  in- 
teresting account,  was  encamped  in  the  same  neighbor- 
hood, and  had  built  there  a  small  tort  or  trading-house, 
and  finally  wintered  in  the  neighborhood. 

An  exchange  of  men  now  took  place,  and  Meek  went 
east  of  the  mountains  under  Fitzpatrick  and  Bridger. 
When  these  famous  leaders  had  first  set  out  for  the  sum- 
mer hunt,  after  the  battle  of  Pierre's  Hole,  their  course 
had  been  to  the  head-waters  of  the  Missouri,  to  the  Yel- 
lowstone lake,  and  the  forks  of  the  Missouri,  some  of  the 
best  beaver  grounds  known  to  them.  But  finding  their 
steps  dogged  by  the  American  Fur  Company,  and  not 
wishing  to  be  made  use  of  as  pilots  by  their  rivals,  they 
had  flitted  about  for  a  time  like  an  Arab  camp,  in  the  en- 
deavor to  blind  them,  and  finally  returned  to  the  west  side 
of  the  mountains,  where  Meek  fell  in  with  them. 

Exasperated  by  the  perseverance  of  the  American 
Company,  they  had  come  to  the  determination  of  leading 


A   CRUEL   DEVICE.  131 

them  a  march  which  should  tire  them  of  the  practice  of 
keeping  at  their  heels.  They  therefore  planned  an  expe- 
dition, from  which  they  expected  no  other  profit  than  that 
of  shaking  off  their  rivals.  Taking  no  pains  to  conceal 
their  expedition,  they  rather  held  out  the  bait  to  the 
American  Company,  who,  unsuspicious  of  their  purpose, 
took  it  readily  enough.  They  led  them  along  across  the 
mountains,  and  on  to  the  head-waters  of  the  Missouri. 
Here,  packing  up  their  traps,  they  tarried  not  for  beaver, 
nor  even  tried  to  avoid  the  Blackfeet,  but  pushed  right 
ahead,  into  the  very  heart  of  their  country,  keeping  away 
from  any  part  of  it  where  beaver  might  be  found,  and 
going  away  on  beyond,  to  the  elevated  plains,  quite  des- 
titute of  that  small  but  desirable  game,  but  followed 
through  it  by  their  rivals. 

However  justifiable  on  the  part  of  trade  this  move- 
ment of  the  Rocky  Mountain  Company  might  have  been, 
it  was  a  cruel  device  as  concerned  the  inexperienced  lead- 
ers of  the  other  company,  one  of  whom  lost  his  life  in 
consequence.  Not  knowing  of  their  danger,  they  only 
discovered  their  situation  in  the  midst  of  Blackfeet, 
after  discovering  the  ruse  that  had  been  played  upon 
them.  They  then  halted,  and  being  determined  to  find 
beaver,  divided  their  forces  and  set  out  in  opposite  direc- 
tions for  that  purpose.  Unhappily,  Major  Vanderburg 
took  the  worst  possible  direction  for  a  small  party  to  take, 
and  had  not  traveled  far  when  his  scouts  came  upon  the 
still  smoking  camp-fires  of  a  band  of  Indians  who  were 
returning  from  a  buffalo  hunt.  From  the  "signs"  left 
behind  them,  the  scout  judged  that  they  had  become 
aware  of  the  near  neighborhood  of  white  men,  and  from 
their  having  stolen  oflf,  he  judged  that  they  were  only 
gone  for  others  of  their  nation,  or  to  prepare  for  war. 

But  Vanderburg,  with  the  fool-hardiness  of   one  not 


132        AN  AMBUSH DEATH  OF  VANDERBUBG. 

"up  to  Blackfeet,"  determined  to  ascertain  for  himself 
what  there  was  to  fear ;  and  taking  with  him  half  a  score 
of  his  followers,  put  himself  upon  their  trail,  galloping 
hard  after  them,  until,  in  his  rashness,  he  found  himself 
being  led  through  a  dark  and  deep  defile,  rendered  darker 
and  gloomier  by  overhanging  trees.  In  the  midst  of  this 
dismal  place,  just  where  an  ambush  might  have  been  ex- 
pected, he  was  attacked  by  a  horde  of  savages,  who 
rushed  upon  his  little  party  with  whoops  and  frantic  ges- 
tures, intended  not  only  to  appal  the  riders,  but  to  frighten 
their  horses,  and  thus  make  surer  their  bloody  butchery. 
It  was  but  the  work  of  a  few  minutes  to  consummate  their 
demoniac  purpose.  Vanderburg's  horse  was  shot  down 
at  once,  falling  on  his  rider,  whom  the  Indians  quickly 
dispatched.  One  or  two  of  the  men  were  instantly  toma- 
hawked, and  the  others  wounded  while  making  their  es- 
cape to  camp.  The  remainder  of  Vanderburg's  company, 
on  learning  the  fate  of  their  leader,  whose  place  there 
was  no  one  to  fill,  immediately  raised  camp  and  fled  with 
all  haste  to  the  encampment  of  the  Pends  Oreille  Indians 
for  assistance.  Here  they  waited,  while  those  Indians,  a 
friendly  tribe,  made  an  effort  to  recover  the  body  of  their 
unfortunate  leader ;  but  the  remains  were  never  recovered, 
probably  having  first  been  fiendishly  mutilated,  and  then 
left  to  the  wolves. 

Fitzpatrick  and  Bridger,  finding  they  were  no  longer 
pursued  by  their  rivals,  as  the  season  advanced  began  to 
retrace  their  steps  toward  the  good  trapping  grounds. 
Being  used  to  Indian  wiles  and  Blackfeet  maraudings  and 
ambushes,  they  traveled  in  close  columns,  and  never 
camped  or  turned  out  their  horses  to  feed,  without  the 
greatest  caution.  Morning  and  evening  scouts  were  sent 
out  to  beat  up  every  thicket  or  ravine  that  seemed  to 
offer  concealment  to  a  foe,  and  the  horizon  was  searched 


AN    AFFRAY THE    WOMAN    INTERPRETER.  133 

in  every  direction  for  signs  of  an  Indian  attack.  The 
complete  safety  of  the  camp  being  settled  almost  beyond 
a  peradventure,  the  horses  were  turned  loose,  though 
never  left  unguarded. 

It  was  not  likely,  however,  that  the  camp  should  pass 
through  the  Blackfoot  country  without  any  encounters 
with  that  nation.  When  it  had  reached  the  head- waters 
of  the  Missouri,  on  the  return  march,  a  party  of  trappers, 
including  Meek,  discovered  a  small  band  of  Indians  in  a 
bend  of  the  lake,  and  thinking  the  opportunity  for  sport 
a  good  one,  commenced  firing  on  them.  The  Indians, 
who  were  without  guns,  took  to  the  lake  for  refuge,  while 
the  trappers  entertained  themselves  with  the  rare  amuse- 
ment of  keeping  them  in  the  water,  by  shooting  at  them 
occasionally.  But  it  chanced  that  these  were  only  a  few 
stragglers  from  the  main  Blackfoot  camp,  which  soon 
came  up  and  put  an  end  to  the  sport  by  putting  the  trap- 
pers to  flight  in  their  turn.  The  trappers  fled  to  camp, 
the  Indians  pursuing,  until  the  latter  discovered  that  they 
had  been  led  almost  into  the  large  camp  of  the  whites. 
This  occasioned  a  halt,  the  Blackfeet  not  caring  to  engage 
with  superior  numbers. 

In  the  pause  which  ensued,  one  of  the  chiefs  came  out 
into  the  open  space,  bearing  the  peace  pipe,  and  Bridger 
also  advanced  to  meet  him,  but  carrying  his  gun  across 
the  pommel  of  his  saddle.  He  was  accompanied  by  a 
young  Blackfoot  woman,  wife  of  a  Mexican  in  his  service, 
as  interpreter.  The  chief  extended  his  hand  in  token  of 
amity ;  but  at  that  moment  Bridger  saw  a  movement  of 
the  chiefs,  which  he  took  to  mean  treachery,  and  cocked 
his  rifle.  But  the  lock  had  no  sooner  clicked  than  the 
chief,  a  large  and  powerful  man,  seized  the  gun  and 
turned  the  muzzle  downward,  when  the  contents  were 
discharged  into  the  earth.     With  another  dexterous  move- 


134  BRAVERY    OF    HER    HUSBAND — HAPPY   FINALE. 

ment  he  wrested  it  from  Bridger's  hand,  and  struck  him 
with  it,  felling  him  to  the  ground.  In  an  instant  all  was 
confusion.  The  noise  of  whoops,  yells,  of  fire-arms,  and 
of  running  hither  and  thither,  gathered  like  a  tempest. 
At  the  first  burst  of  this  demoniac  blast,  the  horse  of  the 
interpreter  became  frightened,  and,  by  a  sudden  move- 
ment, unhorsed  her,  wheeling  and  running  back  to  camp. 
In  the  melee  which  now  ensued,  the  woman  was  carried 
off  by  the  Blackfeet,  and  Bridger  was  wounded  twice  in 
the  back  with  arrows.  A  chance  medley  fight  now  ensued, 
continuing  until  night  put  a  period  to  the  contest.  So 
well  matched  were  the  opposing  forces,  that  each  fought 
with  caution  firing  from  the  cover  of  thickets  and  from 
behind  rocks,,  neither  side  doing  much  execution.  The 
loss  on  the  part  of  the  Blackfeet  was  nine  warriors,  and 
on  that  of  the  whites,  three  men  and  six  horses. 

As  for  the  young  Blackfoot  woman,  whose  people  re- 
tained her  a  prisoner,  her  lamentations  and  struggles  to 
escape  and  return  to  her  husband  and  child  so  wrought 
upon  the  young  Mexican,  who  was  the  pained  witness  of 
her  grief,  that  he  took  the  babe  in  his  arms,  and  galloped 
with  it  into  the  heart  of  the  Blackfoot  camp,  to  place  it 
in  the  arms  of  the  distracted  mother.  This  daring  act, 
which  all  who  witnessed  believed  would  cause  his  death, 
so  excited  the  admiration  of  the  Blackfoot  chief,  that  he 
gave  him  permission  to  return,  unharmed,  to  his  own 
camp.  Encouraged  by  this  clemency,  Loretta  begged  to 
have  his  wife  restored  to  him,  relating  how  he  had  res- 
cued her,  a  prisoner,  from  the  Crows,  who  would  certainly 
have  tortured  her  to  death.  The  wife  added  her  entreat- 
ies to  his,  but  the  chief  sternly  bade  him  depart,  and  as 
sternly  reminded  the  Blackfoot  girl  that  she  belonged  to 
his  tribe,   and  could  not  go  with  his  enemies.     Loretta 


THE   MOUNTAIN   LAMB   AND    HER    CHILD.  135 

was  therefore  compelled  to  abandon  his  wife  and  child, 
and  return  to  camp. 

It  is,  however,  gratifying  to  know  that  so  true  an  in- 
stance of  affection  in  savage  life  was  finally  rewarded ; 
and  that  when  the  two  rival  fur  companies  united,  as  they 
did  in  the  following  year,  Loretta  was  permitted  to  go 
to  the  American  Company's  fort  on  the  Missouri,  in  the 
Blackfoot  country,  where  he  was  employed  as  interpreter, 
assisted  by  his  Blackfoot  wife. 

Such  were  some  of  the  incidents  that  signalized  this 
campaign  in  the  wilderness,  where  two  equally  persistent 
rivals  were  trying  to  outwit  one  another.  Subsequently, 
when  several  years  of  rivalry  had  somewhat  exhausted 
both,  the  Rocky  Mountain  and  American  companies  con- 
solidated, using  all  their  strategy  thereafter  against  the 
Hudson's  Bay  Company,  and  any  new  rival  that  chanced 
to  enter  their  hunting  grounds. 

After  the  fight  above  described,  the  Blackfeet  drew  off 
in  the  night,  showing  no  disposition  to  try  their  skill  next 
day  against  such  experienced  Indian  fighters  as  Bridger's 
brigade  had  shown  themselves.  The  company  continued 
in  the  Missouri  country,  trapping  and  taking  many  beaver, 
until  it  reached  the  Beaver  Head  Valley,  on  the  head- 
waters of  the  Jefferson  fork  of  the  Missouri.  Here  the 
lateness  of  the  season  compelled  a  return  to  winter-quar- 
ters, and  by  Christmas  all  the  wanderers  were  gathered 
into  camp  at  the  forks  of  the  Snake  River. 

1833.  In  the  latter  part  of  January  it  became  neces- 
sary to  move  to  the  junction  of  the  Portneuf  to  subsist 
the  animals.  The  main  body  of  the  camp  had  gone  on 
in  advance,  while  some  few,  with  pack  horses,  or  women 
with  children,  were  scattered  along  the  trail.  Meek,  with 
five  others,  had  been  left  behind  to  gather  up  some  horses 
that  had  strayed.     When  about  a  half  day's  journey  from 


136  INTENSE    COLD NORTHERN    LIGHTS. 

camp,  he  overtook  Umentucken,  the  Mountain  Lamb,  now 
the  wife  of  Milton  Sublette,  with  her  child,  on  horseback. 
The  weather  was  terribly  cold,  and  seeming  to  grow 
colder.  The  naked  plains  afforded  no  shelter  from  the 
piercing  winds,  and  the  air  fairly  glittered  with  frost. 
Poor  Umentucken  was  freezing,  but  more  troubled  about 
her  babe  than  herself.  The  camp  was  far  ahead,  with  all 
the  extra  blankets,  and  the  prospect  was  imminent  that 
they  would  perish.  Our  gallant  trapper  had  thought 
himself  very  cold  until  this  moment,  but  what  were  his 
sufferings  compared  to  those  of  the  Mountain  Lamb  and 
her  little  Lambkin  ?  Without  an  instant's  hesitation,  he 
divested  himself  of  his  blanket  capote,  which  he  wrapped 
round  the  mother  and  child,  and  urged  her  to  hasten  to 
camp.  For  himself,  he  could  not  hasten,  as  he  had  the 
horses  in  charge,  but  all  that  fearful  afternoon  rode  naked 
above  the  waist,  exposed  to  the  wind,  and  the  fine,  dry, 
icy  hail,  which  filled  the  air  as  with  diamond  needles,  to 
pierce  the  skin ;  and,  probably,  to  the  fact  that  the  hail 
was  so  stinging,  was  owing  the  fact  that  his  blood  did  not 
congeal. 

"  0  what  a  day  was  that  I  "  said  Meek  to  the  writer ; 
"  why,  the  air  war  thick  with  fine,  sharp  hail,  and  the  sun 
shining,  too !  not  one  sun  only,  but  three  suns — there 
were  three  suns !  And  when  night  came  on,  the  northern 
lights  blazed  up  the  sky  !  It  was  the  most  beautiful  sight 
I  ever  saw.     That  is  the  country  for  northern  lights !  " 

When  some  surprise  was  expressed  that  he  should  have 
been  obliged  to  expose  his  naked  skin  to  the  weather,  in 
order  to  save  Umentucken — "In  the  mountains,"  he  an- 
swered, "we  do  not  have  many  garments.  Buckskin 
breeches,  a  blanket  capote,  and  a  beaver  skin  cap  makes 
up  our  rig." 


SCARCITY    OF    FUEL THREATENED   BY   FAMINE.  137 

"You  do  not  need  a  laundress,  then?  But  with  such 
clothing  how  could  you  keep  free  of  vermin  ?  " 

"  We  didn't  always  do  that.  Do  you  want  to  know 
how  we  got  rid  of  lice  in  the  mountains  ?  We  just  took 
off  our  clothes  and  laid  them  on  an  ant-hill,  and  you 
ought  to  see  how  the  ants  would  carry  off  the  lice ! " 

But  to  return  to  our  hero,  frozen,  or  nearly  so.  When 
he  reached  camp  at  night,  so  desperate  was  his  condition 
that  the  men  had  to  roll  him  and  rub  him  in  the  snow  for 
some  time  before  allowing  him  to  approach  the  fire.  But 
Umentucken  was  saved,  and  he  became  heroic  in  her  eyes. 
Whether  it  was  the  glory  acquired  by  the  gallant  act  just 
recorded,  or  whether  our  hero  had  now  arrived  at  an  age 
when  the  tender  passion  has  strongest  sway,  the  writer  is 
unprepared  to  affirm :  for  your  mountain-man  is  shy  of 
revealing  his  past  gallantries ;  but  from  this  time  on,  there 
are  evidences  of  considerable  susceptibility  to  the  charms 
of  the  dusky  beauties  of  the  mountains  and  the  plains. 

The  cold  of  this  winter  was  very  severe,  insomuch  that 
men  and  mules  were  frozen  to  death.  "  The  frost,"  says 
Meek,  "  used  to  hang  from  the  roofs  of  our  lodges  in  the 
morning,  on  first  waking,  in  skeins  two  feet  long,  and  our 
blankets  and  whiskers  were  white  with  it.  But  we  trap- 
pers laid  still,  and  called  the  camp-keepers  to  make  a  fire, 
and  in  our  close  lodges  it  was  soon  warm  enough. 

"  The  Indians  suffered  very  much.  Fuel  war  scarce  on 
the  Snake  River,  and  but  little  fire  could  be  afforded — 
just  sufficient  for  the  children  and  their  mothers  to  get 
warm  by,  for  the  fire  was  fed  only  with  buffalo  fat  torn  in 
strips,  which  blazed  up  quickly  and  did  not  last  long. 
Many  a  time  I  have  stood  off,  looking  at  the  fire,  but  not 
venturing  to  approach,  when  a  chief  would  say,  '  Are  you 
cold,  my  friend  ?  come  to  the  fire ' — so  kind  are  these 
Nez  Perces  and  Flatheads." 


138  THE    DEN   OF    GRIZZLYS PUTNAM    OUTDONE. 

The  cold  was  not  the  only  enemy  in  camp  that  winter, 
but  famine  threatened  them.  The  buffalo  had  been  early 
driven  east  of  the  mountains,  and  other  game  was  scarce. 
Sometimes  a  party  of  hunters  were  absent  for  days,  even 
weeks,  without  finding  more  game  than  would  subsist 
themselves.  As  the  trappers  were  all  hunters  in  the  win- 
ter, it  frequently  happened  that  Meek  and  one  or  more 
of  his  associates  went  on  a  hunt  in  company,  for  the  bene- 
fit of  the  camp,  which  was  very  hungry  at  times. 

On  one  of  these  hunting  expeditions  that  winter,  the 
party  consisting  of  Meek,  Hawkins,  Doughty,  and  Antoine 
Claymore,  they  had  been  out  nearly  a  fortnight  without 
killing  anything  of  consequence,  and  had  clambered  up 
the  side  of  the  mountains  on  the  frozen  snow,  in  hopes  of 
finding  some  mountain  sheep.  As  they  traveled  along 
under  a  projecting  ledge  of  rocks,  they  came  to  a  place 
where  there  were  the  impressions  in  the  snow  of  enor- 
mous grizzly  bear  feet.  Close  by  was  an  opening  in  the 
rocks,  revealing  a  cavern,  and  to  this  the  tracks  in  the 
snow  conducted.  Evidently  the  creature  had  come  out 
of  its  winter  den,  and  made  just  one  circuit  back  again. 
At  these  signs  of  game  the  hunters  hesitated — certain  it 
was  there,  but  doubtful  how  to  obtain  it. 

At  length  Doughty  proposed  to  get  up  on  the  rocks 
above  the  mouth  of  the  cavern  and  shoot  the  bear  as  he 
came  out,  if  somebody  would  go  in  and  dislodge  him. 

"  I'm  your  man,"  answered  Meek. 

"And  I  too,"  said  Claymore. 

"  I'll  be    if  we  are  not  as  brave  as  you  are,"  said 

Hawkins,  as  he  prepared  to  follow. 

On  entering  the  cave,  which  was  sixteen  or  twenty  feet 
square,  and  high  enough  to  stand  erect  in,  instead  of  one, 
three  bears  were  discovered.  They  were  standing,  the 
largest  one  in  the  middle,  with  their  eyes  staring  at  the 


SECOND    DANIELS.  139 

entrance,  but  quite  quiet,  greeting  the  hunters  only  with 
a  low  growl.  Finding  that  there  was  a  bear  apiece  to  be 
disposed  of,  the  hunters  kept  close  to  the  wall,  and  out  of 
the  stream  of  light  from  the  entrance,  while  they  ad- 
vanced a  little  way,  cautiously,  towards  their  game,  which, 
however,  seemed  to  take  no  notice  of  them.  After  ma- 
neuvering a  few  minutes  to  get  nearer,  Meek  finally  struck 
the  large  bear  on  the  head  with  his  wiping-stick,  when  it 
immediately  moved  off  and  ran  out  of  the  cave.  As  it 
came  out,  Doughty  shot,  but  only  wounded  it,  and  it 
came  rushing  back,  snorting,  and  running  around  in  a 
circle,  till  the  well  directed  shots  from  all  three  killed  it 
on  the  spot.  Two  more  bears  now  remained  to  be  dis- 
posed of. 

The  successful  shot  put  Hawkins  in  high  spirits.  He 
began  to  hallo  and  laugh,  dancing  around,  and  with  the 
others  striking  the  next  largest  bear  to  make  him  run  out, 
which  he  soon  did,  and  was  shot  by  Doughty.  By  this 
time  their  guns  were  reloaded,  the  men  growing  more 
and  more  elated,  and  Hawkins  declaring  they  were  "all 
Daniels  in  the  lions'  den,  and  no  mistake."  This,  and 
similar  expressions,  he  constantly  vociferated,  while  they 
drove  out  the  third  and  smallest  bear.  As  it  reached  the 
cave's  mouth,  three  simultaneous  shots  put  an  end  to  the 
last  one,  when  Hawkins'  excitement  knew  no  bounds. 
"Daniel  was  a  humbug,"  said  he.  u Daniel  in  the  lions' 
den !  Of  course  it  was  winter,  and  the  lions  were  sucking 
their  paws !  Tell  me  no  more  of  Daniel's  exploits.  We 
are  as  good  Daniels  as  he  ever  dared  to  be.  Hurrah  for 
these  Daniels ! "  With  these  expressions,  and  playing 
many  antics  by  way  of  rejoicing,  the  delighted  Hawkins 
finally  danced  himself  out  of  his  "lion's  den,"  and  set  to 
work  with  the  others  to  prepare  for  a  return  to  camp. 

Sleds  were  soon  constructed  out  of  the  branches  of  the 


140  THE    RETURN    TO    CAMP. 

mountain  willow,  and  on  these  light  vehicles  the  fortunate 
find  of  bear  meat  was  soon  conveyed  to  the  hungry  camp 
in  the  plain  below.  And  ever  after  this  singular  exploit 
of  the  party,  Hawkins  continued  to  aver,  in  language 
more  strong  than  elegant,  that  the  Scripture  Daniel  was  a 
humbug  compared  to  himself,  and  Meek,  and  Claymore. 


CHAPTER    VIII. 

1833.  In  the  spring  the  camp  was  visited  by  a  party 
of  twenty  Blackfeet,  who  drove  off  most  of  the  horses ; 
and  among  the  stolen  ones,  Bridger's  favorite  race-horse, 
Grohean,  a  Camanche  steed  of  great  speed  and  endurance. 
To  retake  the  horses,  and  if  possible  punish  the  thieves, 
a  company  of  the  gamest  trappers,  thirty  in  number,  in- 
cluding Meek,  and  Kit  Carson,  who  not  long  before  had 
joined  the  Rocky  Mountain  Company,  was  dispatched  on 
their  trail.  They  had  not  traveled  long  before  they  came 
up  with  the  Blackfeet,  but  the  horses  were  nowhere  to  be 
seen,  having  been  secreted,  after  the  manner  of  these  thieves, 
in  some  defile  of  the  mountains,  until  the  skirmish  was 
over  which  they  knew  well  enough  to  anticipate.  Accord- 
ingly when  the  trappers  came  up,  the  wily  savages  were 
prepared  for  them.  Their  numbers  were  inferior  to  that 
of  the  whites ;  accordingly  they  assumed  an  innocent  and 
peace-desiring  air,  while  their  head  man  advanced  with  the 
inevitable  peace-pipe,  to  have  a  "talk."  But  as  their  talk 
was  a  tissue  of  lies,  the  trappers,  soon  lost  patience,  and  a 
quarrel  quickly  arose.  The  Indians  betook  themselves  to 
the  defences  which  were  selected  beforehand,  and  a  fight 
began,  which  without  giving  to  either  party  the  victory 
of  arms,  ended  in  the  killing  of  two  or  three  of  the  Black- 
feet, and  the  wounding  very  severely  of  Kit  Carson. 
The  firing  ceased  with  nightfall;  and  when  morning  came, 
as  usual  the  Blackfeet  were  gone,  and  the  trappers  re- 
turned to  camp  without  their  horses. 


142  THE   GREEN   RIVER   RENDEZVOUS. 

The  lost  animals  were  soon  replaced  by  purchase  from 
the  Nez  Perces,  and  the  company  divided  up  into  brigades, 
some  destined  for  the  country  east  of  the  mountains,  and 
others  for  the  south  aad  west.  In  this  year  Meek  rose  a 
grade  above  the  hired  trapper,  and  became  one  of  the 
order  denominated  skin  trappers.  These,  like  the  hired 
trappers,  depend  upon  the  company  to  furnish  them  an 
outfit ;  but  do  not  receive  regular  wages,  as  do  the  others. 
They  trap  for  themselves,  only  agreeing  to  sell  their  bea- 
ver to  the  company  which  furnishes  the  outfit,  and  to  no 
other.  In  this  capacity,  our  Joe,  and  a  few  associates, 
hunted  this  spring,  in  the  Snake  River  and  Salt  Lake  coun- 
tries ;  returning  as  usual  to  the  annual  rendezvous,  which 
was  appointed  this  summer  to  meet  on  Green  River.  Here 
were  the  Rocky  Mountain  and  American  Companies;  the 
St.  Louis  Company,  under  Capt.  Wm.  Sublette  and  his 
friend  Campbell ;  the  usual  camp  of  Indian  allies ;  and,  a 
few  miles  distant,  that  of  Captain  Bonneville.  In  addition 
to  all  these,  was  a  small  company  belonging  to  Capt.  Stuart, 
an  Englishman  of  noble  family,  who  was  traveling  in  the 
far  west  only  to  gratify  his  own  love  of  wild  adventure, 
and  admiration  of  all  that  is  grand  and  magnificent  in  na- 
ture. With  him  was  an  artist  named-  Miller,  and  several 
servants ;  but  he  usually  traveled  in  company  with  one  or 
another  of  the  fur  companies;  thus  enjoying  their  protec- 
tion, and  at  the  same  time  gaining  a  knowledge  of  the 
habits  of  mountain  life. 

The  rendezvous,  at  this  time,  furnished  him  a  striking 
example  of  some  of  the  ways  of  mountain-men,  least  to 
their  honorable  fame ;  and  we  fear  we  must  confess  that 
our  friend  Joe  Meek,  who  had  been  gathering  laurels  as  a 
valiant  hunter  and  trapper  during  the  three  or  four  years 
of  his  apprenticeship,  was  also  becoming  fitted,  by  frequent 
practice,  to  graduate  in  some  of  the  vices  of  camp  life. 


A  MAD   WOLF.  143 

especially  the  one  of  conviviality  during  rendezvous.  Had 
he  not  given  his  permission,  we  should  not  perhaps  have 
said  what  he  says  of  himself,  that  he  was  at  such  times  of- 
ten very  "powerful  drunk." 

During  the  indulgence  of  these  excesses,  while  at  this 
rendezvous,  there  occurred  one  of  those  incidents  of  wil- 
derness life  which  make  the  blood  creep  with  horror. 
Twelve  of  the  men  were  bitten  by  a  mad  wolf,  which  hung 
about  the  camp  for  two  or  three  nights.  Two  of  these 
were  seized  with  madness  in  camp,  sometime  afterwards, 
and  ran  off  into  the  mountains,  where  they  perished.  One 
was  attacked  by  the  paroxysm  while  on  a  hunt ;  when, 
throwing  himself  off  his  horse,  he  struggled  and  foamed 
at  the  mouth,  gnashing  his  teeth,  and  barking  like  a  wolf. 
Yet  he  retained  consciousness  enough  to  warn  away  his 
companions,  who  hastened  in  search  of  assistance;  but 
when  they  returned  he  was  nowhere  to  be  found.  It  was 
thought  that  he  was  seen  a  day  or  two  afterwards,  but  no 
one  could  come  up  with  him,  and  of  coarse,  he  too,  per- 
ished. Another  died  on  his  journey  to  St.  Louis ;  and 
several  died  at  different  times  within  the  next  two  years. 

At  the  time,  however,  immediately  following  the  visit 
of  the  wolf  to  camp,  Captain  Stuart  was  admonishing 
Meek  on  the  folly  of  his  ways,  telling  him  that  the  wolf 
might  easily  have  bitten  him,  he  was  so  drunk. 

"It  would  have  killed  him, — sure,  if  it  hadn't  cured 
him !  "  said  Meek, — alluding  to  the  belief  that  alcohol  is  a 
remedy  for  the  poison  of  hydrophobia. 

When  sobriety  returned,  and  work  was  once  more  to  be 
resumed,  Meek  returned  with  three  or  four  associates  to 
the  Salt  Lake  country,  to  trap  on  the  numerous  streams 
that  flow  down  from  the  mountains  to  the  east  of  Salt  Lake. 
He  had  not  been  long  in  this  region  when  he  fell  in  on 
Bear  River  with  a  company  of  Bonneville's  men,  one  hun- 
10 


144  JO    WALKER'S    CALIFORNIA    EXPEDITION. 

dred  and  eighteen  in  number,  under  Jo  Walker,  who  had 
been  sent  to  explore  the  Great  Salt  Lake,  and  the  adja- 
cent country ;  to  make  charts,  keep  a  journal,  and,  in  short, 
make  a  thorough  discovery  of  all  that  region.  Great  ex- 
pectations were  cherished  by  the  Captain  concerning  this 
favorite  expedition,  which  were,  however,  utterly  blighted, 
as  his  historian  has  recorded.  The  disappointment  and  loss 
which  Bonneville  suffered  from  it,  gave  a  tinge  of  preju- 
dice to  his  delineations  of  the  trapper's  character.  It  was 
true  that  they  did  not  explore  Salt  Lake ;  and  that  they 
made  a  long  and  expensive  journey,  collecting  but  few 
peltries.  It  is  true  also,  that  they  caroused  in  true  moun- 
tain style,  while  among  the  Californians :  but  that  the  ex- 
pedition was  unprofitable  was  due  chiefly  to  the  difficul- 
ties attending  the  exploration  of  a  new  country,  a  large 
portion  of  which  was  desert  and  mountain. 

But  let  us  not  anticipate.  When  Meek  and  his  compan- 
ions fell  in  with  Jo  Walker  and  his  company,  they  resolved 
to  accompany  the  expedition ;  for  it  was  "  a  feather  in  a 
man's  cap,"  and  made  his  services  doubly  valuable  to  have 
become  acquainted  with  a  new  country,  and  fitted  himself 
for  a  pilot. 

On  leaving  Bear  River,  where  the  hunters  took  the  pre- 
caution to  lay  in  a  store  of  dried  meat,  the  company  passed 
down  on  the  west  side  of  Salt  Lake,  and  found  themselves 
in  the  Salt  Lake  desert,  where  their  store,  insufficiently 
large,  soon  became  reduced  to  almost  nothing.  Here  was 
experienced  again  the  sufferings  to  which  Meek  had  once 
before  been  subjected  in  the  Digger  country,  which,  in 
fact,  bounded  this  desert  on  the  northwest.  "  There  was," 
says  Bonneville,  "  neither  tree,  nor  herbage,  nor  spring, 
nor  pool,  nor  running  stream ;  nothing  but  parched  wastes 
of  sand,  where  horse  and  rider  were  in  danger  of  perish- 
ing." Many  an  emigrant  has  since  confirmed  the  truth  of 
this  account. 


INSTINCT    OF    THE   MULE.  145 

It  could  not  be  expected  that  men  would  continue  on 
in  such  a  country,  in  that  direction  which  offered  no  change 
for  the  better.  Discerning  at  last  a  snowy  range  to  the 
northwest,  they  traveled  in  that  direction ;  pinched  with 
famine,  and  with  tongues  swollen  out  of  their  mouths  with 
thirst.  They  came  at  last  to  a  small  stream,  into  which 
both  men  and  animals  plunged  to  quench  their  raging 
thirst. 

The  instinct  of  a  mule  on  these  desert  journeys  is  some- 
thing wonderful.  We  have  heard  it  related  by  others  be- 
sides the  mountain-men,  that  they  will  detect  the  neighbor- 
hood of  water  long  before  their  riders  have  discovered  a 
sign ;  and  setting  up  a  gallop,  when  before  they  could 
hardly  walk,  will  dash  into  the  water  up  to  their  necks, 
drinking  in  the  life-saving  moisture  through  every  pore  of 
the  skin,  while  they  prudently  refrain  from  swallowing 
much  of  it.  If  one  of  a  company  has  been  off  on  a  hunt 
for  water,  and  on  finding  it  has  let  his  mule  drink,  when 
he  returns  to  camp,  the  other  animals  will  gather  about 
it,  and  snuff  its  breath,  and  even  its  body,  betraying 
the  liveliest  interest  and  envy.  It  is  easy  to  imagine  that 
in  the  case  of  Jo  Walker's  company,  not  only  the  animals 
but  the  men  were  eager  to  steep  themselves  in  the  reviv- 
ing waters  of  the  first  stream  which  they  found  on  the 
border  of  this  weary  desert. 

It  proved  to  be  a  tributary  of  Mary's  or  Ogden's  River, 
along  which  the  company  pursued  their  way,  trapping  as 
they  went,  and  living  upon  the  flesh  of  the  beaver.  They 
had  now  entered  upon  the  same  country  inhabited  by 
Digger  Indians,  in  which  Milton  Sublette's  brigade  had  so 
nearly  perished  with  famine  the  previous  year.  It  was 
unexplored,  and  the  natives  were  as  curious  about  the 
movements  of  their  white  visitors,  as  Indians  always  are 
on  the  first  appearance  of  civilized  men. 


146  MASSACRE    OF    DIGGERS   AT    MARY'S    RIVER. 

They  hung  about  the  camps,  offering  no  offences  by  day, 
but  contriving  to  do  a  great  deal  of  thieving  during  the 
night-time.  Each  day,  for  several  days,  their  numbers 
increased,  until  the  army  which  dogged  the  trappers  by 
day,  and  filched  from  them  at  night,  numbered  nearly  a 
thousand.  They  had  no  guns;  but  carried  clubs,  and 
some  bows  and  arrows.  The  trappers  at  length  became 
uneasy  at  this  accumulation  of  force,  even  though  they 
had  no  fire-arms,  for  was  it  not  this  very  style  of  people, 
armed  with  clubs,  that  attacked  Smith's  party  on  the 
Umpqua,  and  killed  all  but  four  ? 

"We  must  kill  a  lot  of  them,  boys,"  said  Jo  Walker. 
"It  will  never  do  to  let  that  crowd  get  into  camp."  Ac- 
cordingly, as  the  Indians  crowded  round  at  a  ford  of  Mary's 
River,  always  a  favorite  time  of  attack  with  the  savages, 
Walker  gave  the  order  to  fire,  and  the  whole  company 
poured  a  volley  into  the  jostling  crowd.  The  effect  was 
terrible.  Seventy-five  Diggers  bit  the  dust;  while  the 
others,  seized  with  terror  and  horror  at  this  new  and  instan- 
taneous mode  of  death,  fled  howling  away,  the  trappers 
pursuing  them  until  satisfied  that  they  were  too  much 
frightened  to  return.  This  seemed  to  Captain  Bonneville, 
when  he  came  to  hear  of  it,  like  an  unnecessary  and  fero- 
cious act.  But  Bonneville  was  not  an  experienced  Indian 
fighter.  His  views  of  their  character  were  much  governed 
by  his  knowledge  of  the  Flatheads  and  Nez  Perces ;  and 
also  by  the  immunity  from  harm  he  enjoyed  among  the 
Shoshonies  on  the  Snake  River,  where  the  Hudson's  Bay 
Company  had  brought  them  into  subjection,  and  where 
even  two  men  might  travel  in  safety  at  the  time  of  his 
residence  in  that  country. 

Walker's  company  continued  on  down  to  the  main  or 
Humboldt  River,  trapping  as  they  went,  both  for  the  furs, 
and  for  something  to  eat ;  and  expecting  to  find  that  the 


CROSSING   THE   SIERRA   NEVADAS.  147 

river  whose  course  they  were  following  through  these  bar- 
ren plains,  would  lead  them  to  some  more  important  river, 
or  to  some  large  lake  or  inland  sea.  This  was  a  country 
entirely  unknown,  even  to  the  adventurous  traders  and ' 
trappers  of  the  fur  companies,  who  avoided  it  because  it 
was  out  of  the  buffalo  range ;  and  because  the  borders  of 
it,  along  which  they  sometimes  skirted,  were  found  to  be 
wanting  in  water-courses  in  which  beaver  might  be  looked 
for.  Walker's  company  therefore,  now  determined  to 
prosecute  their  explorations  until  they  came  to  some  new 
and  profitable  beaver  grounds. 

But  after  a  long  march  through  an  inhospitable  country 
they  came  at  last  to  where  the  Humboldt  sinks  itself  in  a 
great  swampy  lake,  in  the  midst  of  deserts  of  sage-brush. 
Here  was  the  end  of  their  great  expectations.  To  the 
west  of  them,  however,  and  not  far  off,  rose  the  lofty  sum- 
mits of  the  Sierra  Nevada  range,  some  of  whose  peaks 
were  covered  with  eternal  snows.  Since  they  had  already 
made  an  unprofitable  business  of  their  expedition,  and 
failed  in  its  principal  aim,  that  of  exploring  Salt  Lake, 
they  resolved  upon  crossing  the  mountains  into  California,  v 
and  seeking  new  fields  of  adventure  on  the  western  side 
of  the  Nevada  mountains. 

Accordingly,  although  it  was  already  late  in  the  autumn, 
the  party  pushed  on  toward  the  west,  until  they  came  to 
Pyramid  Lake,  another  of  those  swampy  lakes  which  are 
frequently  met  with  near  the  eastern  base  of  these  Sierras. 
Into  this  flowed  a  stream  similar  to  the  Humboldt,  which 
came  from  the  south,  and,  they  believed,  had  its  rise  in 
the  mountains.  As  it  was  important  to  find  a  good  pass,, 
they  took  their  course  along  this  stream,  which  they 
named  Trucker's  River,  and  continued  along  it  to  its 
head-waters  in  the  Sierras. 

And  now  began  the  arduous  labor  of  crossing  an  un- 


148  DELIGHT    OF    THE    TRAPPERS. 

known  range  of  lofty  mountains.  Mountaineers  as  they 
were,  they  found  it  a  difficult  undertaking,  and  one  at- 
tended with  considerable  peril.  For  a  period  of  more 
than  three  weeks  they  were  struggling  with  these  dangers ; 
hunting  paths  for  their  mules  and  horses,  traveling  around 
canyons  thousands  of  feet  deep;  sometimes  sinking  in 
new  fallen  snow;  always  hungry,  and  often  in  peril 
from  starvation.  Sometimes  they  scrambled  up  almost 
smooth  declivities  of  granite,  that  offered  no  foothold 
save  the  occasional  seams  in  the  rock ;  at'  others  they 
traveled  through  pine  forests  made  nearly  impassable  by 
snow ;  and  at  other  times  on  a  ridge  which  wind  and  sun 
made  bare  for  them.  All  around  rose  rocky  peaks  and 
pinnacles  fretted  by  ages  of  denudation  to  very  spears 
and  needles  of  a  burnt  looking,  red  colored  rock.  Below, 
were  spread  out  immense  fields,  or  rather  oceans,  of 
granite  that  seemed  once  to  have  been  a  molten  sea,  whose 
waves  were  suddenly  congealed.  From  the  fissures  be- 
tween these  billows  grew  stunted  pines,  which  had  found 
a  scanty  soil  far  down  in  the  crevices  of  the  rock  for  their 
hardy  roots.  Following  the  course  of  any  stream  flowing 
in  the  right  direction  for  their  purpose,  they  came  not  in- 
frequently to  some  small  fertile  valley,  set  in  amidst  the 
rocks  like  a  cup,  and  often  containing  in  its  depth  a  bright 
little  lake.  These  are  the  oases  in  the  mountain  deserts. 
But  the  lateness  of  the  season  made  it  necessary  to  avoid 
the  high  valleys  on  account  of  the  snow,  which  in  winter 
accumulates  to  a  depth  of  twenty  feet. 

Great  was  the  exultation  of  the  mountaineers  when 

they  emerged   from  the  toils  and  dangers,  safe  into  the 

.bright  and  sunny  plains  of  California;  having  explored 

almost  the  identical  route  since  fixed  upon  for  the  Union 

Pacific  Railroad. 

They  proceeded  down  the  Sacramento  valley,  toward 


ESCORTED   BY   SPANISH   SOLDIERS   TO   MONTEREY.        149 

the  coast,  after  recruiting  their  horses  on  the  ripe  wild  oats, 
and  the  freshly  springing  grass  which  the  December  rains 
had  started  into  life,  and  themselves  on  the  plentiful  game 
of  the  foot-hills.  Something  of  the  stimulus  of  the  Cali- 
fornian  climate  seemed  to  be  imparted  to  the  ever  buoy- 
ant blood  of  these  hardy  and  danger- despising  men. 
They  were  mad  with  delight  on  finding  themselves,  after 
crossing  the  stern  Sierras,  in  a  land  of  sunshine  and  plenty ; 
a  beautiful  land  of  verdant  hills  and  tawny  plains;  of 
streams  winding  between  rows  of  alder  and  willow,  and 
valleys  dotted  with  picturesque  groves  of  the  evergreen 
oak.  Instead  of  the  wild  blasts  which  they  were  used  to 
encounter  in  December,  they  experienced  here  only  those 
dainty  and  wooing  airs  which  poets  have  ascribed  to  spring, 
but  which  seldom  come  even  with  the  last  May  days  in  an 
eastern  climate. 

In  the  San  Jose  valley  they  encountered  a  party  of  one 
hundred  soldiers,  which  the  Spanish  government  at  Mon- 
terey had  sent  out  to  take  a  party  of  Indians  accused  of 
stealing  cattle.  The  soldiers  were  native  Californians,  de- 
scendants of  the  mixed  blood  of  Spain  and  Mexico,  a  wild, 
jaunty  looking  set  of  fellows,  who  at  first  were  inclined 
to  take  Walker's  party  for  a  band  of  cattle  thieves,  and  to 
march  them  off  to  Monterey.  But  the  Rocky  Mountain 
trapper  was  not  likely  to  be  taken  prisoner  by  any  such 
brigade  as  the  dashing  cabelleros  of  Monterey. 

After  astonishing  them  with  a  series  of  whoops  and 
yells,  and  trying  to  astonish  them  with  feats  of  horseman- 
ship, they  began  to  discover  that  when  it  came  to  the  lat- 
ter accomplishment,  even  mountain-men  could  learn  some- 
thing from  a  native  Californian.  In  this  latter  frame  of 
mind  they  consented  to  be  conducted  to  Monterey  as  pris- 
oners or  not,  just  as  the  Spanish  government  should  here- 
after be  pleased  to  decree ;  and  they  had  confidence  in 


150  A   HOSPITABLE    RECEPTION. 

themselves  that  they  should  be  able  to  bend  that  high  and 
mighty  authority  to  their  own  purposes  thereafter. 

Nor  were  they  mistaken  in  their  calculations.  Their 
fearless,  free  and  easy  style,  united  to  their  complete  fur- 
nishing of  arms,  their  numbers,  and  their  superior  ability 
to  stand  up  under  the  demoralizing  effect  of  the  favorite 
aguadtente,  soon  so  far  influenced  the  soldiery  at  least,  that 
the  trappers  were  allowed  perfect  freedom  under  the  very 
eyes  of  the  jealous  Spanish  government,  and  were  treated 
with  all  hospitality. 

The  month  which  the  trappers  spent  at  Monterey  was 
their  "red  letter  day"  for  a  long  time  after.  The  habits 
of  the  Californians  accorded  with  their  own,  with  just  dif- 
ference enough  to  furnish  them  with  novelties  and  excite- 
ments such  as  gave  a  zest  to  their  intercourse.  The 
Californian,  and  the  mountain-men,  were  alike  centaurs. 
Horses  were  their  necessity,  and  their  delight;  and  the 
plains  swarmed  with  them,  as  also  with  wild  cattle,  de- 
scendants of  those  imported  by  the  Jesuit  Fathers  in  the 
early  days  of  the  Missions.  These  horses  and  cattle  were 
placed  at  the  will  and  pleasure  of  the  trappers.  They 
feasted  on  one,  and  bestrode  the  other  as  it  suited  them. 
They  attended  bull-fights,  ran  races,  threw  the  lasso,  and 
played  monte,  with  a  relish  that  delighted  the  inhabitants 
of  Monterey. 

The  partial  civilization  of  the  Californians  accorded 
with  every  feeling  to  which  the  mountain-men  could  be 
brought  to  confess.  To  them  the  refinements  of  cities 
would  have  been  oppressive.  The  adobe  houses  of  Mon- 
terey were  not  so  restraining  in  their  elegance  as  to  trou- 
ble the  sensations  of  men  used  to  the  heavens  for  a  roof 
in  summer,  and  a  skin  lodge  for  shelter  in  winter.  Some 
fruits  and  vegetables,  articles  not  tasted  for  years,  they 
obtained  at  the  missions,  where  the  priests  received  them 


THE    NATIVE    CALIFORXIAXS.  151 

courteously  and  hospitably,  as  they  had  done  Jedediah 
Smith  and  his  company,  five  years  before,  when  on  their 
long  and  disastrous  journey  they  found  themselves  almost 
destitute  of  the  necessaries  of  life,  upon  their  arrival  in 
California.  There  was  something  too,  in  the  dress  of  the 
people,  both  men  and  women,  which  agreed  with,  while 
differing  from,  the  dress  of  the  mountaineers  and  their 
now  absent  Indian  dulcineas. 

The  men  wore  garments  of  many  colors,  consisting  of 
blue  velveteen  breeches  and  jacket,  the  jacket  having  a 
scarlet  collar  and  cuffs,  and  the  breeches  being  open  at 
the  knee  to  display  the  stocking  of  white.  Beneath  these 
were  displayed  high  buskins  made  of  deer  skin,  fringed 
down  the  outside  of  the  ankle,  and  laced  with  a  cord  and 
tassels.  On  the  head  was  worn  a  broad  brimmed  sombrero; 
and  over  the  shoulders  the  jaunty  Mexican  sarape.  When 
they  rode,  the  Californians  wore  enormous  spurs,  fastened 
on  by  jingling  chains.  Their  saddles  were  so  shaped  that 
it  was  difficult  to  dislodge  the  rider,  being  high  before  and 
behind ;  and  the  indispensable  lasso  hung  coiled  from  the 
pommel.  Their  stirrups  were  of  wood,  broad  on  the  bot- 
tom, with  a  guard  of  leather  that  protected  the  fancy  bus- 
kin of  the  horseman  from  injury.  Thus  accoutred,  and 
mounted  on  a  wild  horse,  the  Californian  was  a  suitable 
comrade,  in  appearance,  at  least,  for  the  buckskin  clad  trap- 
per, with  his  high  beaver-skin  cap,  his  gay  scarf,  and  moc- 
casins, and  profusion  of  arms. 

The  dress  of  the  women  was  a  gown  of  gaudy  calico 
or  silk,  and  a  bright  colored  shawl,  which  served  for  man- 
tilla and  bonnet  together.  They  were  well  formed,  with 
languishing  eyes  and  soft  voices;  and  doubtless  appeared 
charming  in  the  eyes  of  our  band  of  trappers,  with  whom 
they  associated  freely  at  fandangoes,  bull-fights,  or  bear- 
baitings.     In  such  company,  what  wonder  that  Bonneville's 


152  THE    MOQUIS    VILLAGE INFAMOUS   AFFAIR. 

men  lingered  for  a  whole  month !  What  wonder  that  the 
California  expedition  was  a  favorite  theme  by  camp-fires, 
for  a  long  time  subsequent  ? 

1834.  In  February  the  trappers  bethought  themselves 
of  returning  to  the  mountains.  The  route  fixed  upon  was 
one  which  should  take  them  through  Southern  California, 
and  New  Mexico,  along  the  course  of  all  the  principal 
rivers.  Crossing  the  coast  mountains,  into  the  valley  of 
the  San  Joaquin,  they  followed  its  windings  until  they 
came  to  its  rise  in  the  Lulare  Lake.  Thence  turning  in  a 
southeasterly  course,  they  came  to  the  Colorado,  at  the 
Mohave  villages,  where  they  traded  with  the  natives,, 
whom  they  found  friendly.  Keeping  on  down  the  Colo- 
rado, to  the  mouth  of  the  Gila,  they  turned  back  from 
that  river,  and  ascended  the  Colorado  once  more,  to  Wil- 
liams' Fork,  and  up  the  latter  stream  to  some  distance,, 
when  they  fell  in  with  a  company  of  sixty  men  under 
Frapp  and  Jervais,  two  of  the  partners  in  the  Rocky 
Mountain  Company.  The  meeting  was  joyful  on  all 
sides ;  but  particularly  so  between  Meek  and  some  of  his 
old  comrades,  with  whom  he  had  fought  Indians  and  griz- 
zly bears,  or  set  beaver  traps  on  some  lonely  stream  in 
the  Blackfoot  country.  A  lively  exchange  of  questions 
and  answers  took  place,  while  gaiety  and  good  feeling 
reigned. 

Frapp  had  been  out  quite  as  long  as  the  Monterey  party. 
It  was  seldom  that  the  brigade  which  traversed  the  south- 
ern country,  on  the  Colorado,  and  its  large  tributaries, 
returned  to  winter  quarters;  for  in  the  region  where  they 
trapped  winter  was  unknown,  and  the  journey  to  the  north- 
ern country  a  long  and  hazardous  one.  But  the  reunited 
trappers  had  each  their  own  experiences  to  relate. 

The  two  companies  united  made  a  party  nearly  two  hun- 
dred strong.     Keeping  with  Frapp,  they  crossed  over  from 


THE   RETURN   MARCH.  153 

Williams1  Fork-  to  the  Colorado  Chiquito  river,  at  the  Mo- 
quis village,  where  some  of  the  men  disgraced  themselves 
far  more  than  did  Jo  Walker's  party  at  the  crossing  of 
Mary's  River.  For  the  Moquis  were  a  half-civilized  nation, 
who  had  houses  and  gardens,  and  conducted  themselves 
kindly,  or  at  the  worst  peaceably,  toward  properly  behaved 
strangers.  These  trappers,  instead  of  approaching  them 
with  offers  of  purchase,  lawlessly  entered  their  gardens, 
rifling  them  of  whatever  fruit  or  melons  were  ripe,  and 
not  hesitating  to  destroy  that  which  was  not  ripe.  To  this, 
as  might  be  expected,  the  Moquises  objected ;  and  were 
shot  down  for  so  doing.  In  this  truly  infamous  affair  fif- 
teen or  twenty  of  them  were  killed. 

"  I  didn't  belong  to  that  crowd,"  says  Joe  Meek,  "  I  sat 
on  the  fence  and  saw  it,  though.     It  was  a  shameful  thing." 

From  the  Moquis  village,  the  joint  companies  crossed 
the  country  in  a  northeasterly  direction,  crossing  several 
branches  of  the  Colorado  at  their  head-waters,  which 
course  finally  brought  them  to  the  head-waters  of  the  Rio 
Grande.  The  journey  from  the  mouth  of  the  Gila,  though 
long,  extended  over  a  country  comparatively  safe.  Either 
farther  to  the  south  or  east,  the  caravan  would  have  been 
in  danger  of  a  raid  from  the  most  dangerous  tribes  on  the 
continent 


CHAPTER    IX.  • 

1834.  But  Joe  Meek  was  not  destined  to  return  to  the 
Rocky  Mountains  without  having  had  an  Indian  fight.  If 
adventures  did  not  come  in  Ms  way  he  was  the  man  to  put 
himself  in  the  way  of  adventures. 

While  the  camp  was  on  its  way  from  the  neighborhood 
of  Grande  River  to  the  New  Park,  Meek,  Kit  Carson, 
and  Mitchell,  with  three  Delaware  Indians,  named  Tom 
Hill,  Manhead,  and  Jonas,  went  on  a  hunt  across  to  the 
east  of  Grande  River,  in  the  country  lying  between  the 
Arkansas  and  Cimarron,  where  numerous  small  branches 
of  these  rivers  head  together,  or  within  a  small  extent  of 
country. 

They  were  about  one  hundred  and  fifty  miles  from  camp, 
and  traveling  across  the  open  plain  between  the  streams, 
one  beautiful  May  morning,  when'  about  five  miles  off  they 
descried  a  large  band  of  Indians  mounted,  and  galloping 
toward  them.  As  they  were  in  the  Camanche  country, 
they  knew  what  to  expect  if  they  allowed  themselves 
to  be  taken  prisoners.  They  gave  but  a  moment  to  the 
observation  of  their  foes,  but  that  one  moment  revealed 
a  spirited  scene.  Fully  two  hundred  Camanches,  their 
warriors  in  front,  large  and  well  formed  men,  mounted  on 
fleet  and  powerful  horses,  armed  with  spears  and  battle 
axes,  racing  like  the  wind  over  the  prairie,  their  feather 
head-dresses  bending  to  the  breeze,  that  swept  past  them 
in  the  race  with  double  force ;  all  distinctly  seen  in  the 


THE  MULE  FORT A  CAMANCHE  CBARGE.       155 

clear  air  of  the  prairie,  and  giving  the  beholder  a  thrill  of 
fear  mingled  with  admiration. 

The  first  moment  given  to  this  spectacle,  the  second  one 
was  employed  to  devise  some  means  of  escape.  To  run 
was  useless.  The  swift  Camanche  steeds  would  soon  over- 
take them ;  and  then  their  horrible  doom  was  fixed.  No 
covert  was  at  hand,  neither  thicket  nor  ravine,  as  in  the 
mountains  there  might  have  been.  Carson  and  Meek  ex- 
changed two  or  three  sentences.  At  last,  "we  must  kill 
our  mules !  "  said  they. 

That  seems  a  strange  devise  to  the  uninitiated  reader, 
who  no  doubt  believes  that  in  such  a  case  their  mules  must 
be  their  salvation.  And  so  they  were  intended  to  be.  In 
this  plight  a  dead  mule  was  far  more  useful  than  a  live 
one.  To  the  ground  sprang  every  man ;  and  placing  their 
mules,  seven  in  number,  in  a  ring,  they  in  an  instant  cut 
their  throats  with  their  hunting  knives,  and  held  on  to  the 
bridles  until  each  animal  fell  dead  in  its  appointed  place. 
Then  hastily  scooping  up  what  earth  they  could  with 
knives,  they  made  themselves  a  fort — a  hole  to  stand  in 
for  each  man,  and  a  dead  mule  for  a  breastwork. 

In  less  than  half  an  hour  the  Camanches  charged  on 
them ;  the  medicine-man  in  advance  shouting,  gesticulat- 
ing, and  making  a  desperate  clatter  with  a  rattle  which  he 
carried  and  shook  violently.  The  yelling,  the  whooping, 
the  rattling,  the  force  of  the  charge  were  appalling.  But 
the  little  garrison  in  the  mule  fort  did  not  waver.  The 
Camanche  horses  did.  They  could  not  be  made  to  charge 
upon  the  bloody  carcasses  of  the  mules,  nor  near  enough 
for  their  riders  to  throw  a  spear  into  the  fort. 

This  was  what  the  trappers  had  relied  upon.  They 
were  cool  and  determined,  while  terribly  excited  and 
wrought  up  by  their  situation.  It  was  agreed  that  no 
more  than  three  should  fire  at  a  time,  the  other  three  re- 


156     REPEATED  ATTACKS THE  SQUAWS  '  WEAPON. 

serving  their  fire  while  the  empty  guns  could  be  reloaded. 
They  were  to  pick  their  men,  and  kill  one  at  every  shot. 

They  acted  up  to  their  regulations.  At  the  charge  the 
Camanche  horses  recoiled  and  could  not  be  urged  upon 
the  fort  of  slaughtered  mules.  The  three  whites  fired  first, 
and  the  medicine-man  and  two  other  Camanches  fell. 
When  a  medicine-man  is  killed,  the  others  retire  to  hold  a 
council  and  appoint  another,  for  without  their  "medicine" 
they  could  not  expect  success  in  battle.  This  was  time 
gained.  The  warriors  retired,  while  their  women  came 
up  and  carried  off  the  dead. 

After  devoting  a  little  time  to  bewailing  the  departed, 
another  chief  was  appointed  to  the  head  place,  and  another 
furious  charge  was  made  with  the  same  results  as  before. 
Three  more  warriors  bit  the  dust ;  while  the  spears  of  their 
brethren,  attached  to  long  hair  ropes  by  which  they  could 
be  withdrawn,  fell  short  of  reaching  the  men  in  the  fort. 
Again  and  again  the  Camanches  made  a  fruitless  charge, 
losing,  as  often  as  they  repeated  it,  three  warriors,  either 
dead  or  wounded.  Three  times  that  day  the  head  chief 
or  medicine-man  was  killed;  and  when  that  happened, 
the  heroes  in  the  fort  got  a  little  time  to  breathe.  While 
the  warriors  held  a  council,  the  women  took  care  of  the 
wounded  and  slain. 

As  the  women  approached  the  fort  to  carry  off  the  fallen 
warriors,  they  mocked  and  reviled  the  little  band  of  trap- 
pers, calling  them  "women,"  for  fighting  in  a  fort,  and 
resorting  to  the  usual  Indian  ridicule  and  gasconade. 
Occasionally,  also,  a  warrior  raced  at  full  speed  past  the 
fort  apparently  to  take  observations.  Thus  the  battle  con- 
tinued through  the  entire  day. 

It  was  terrible  work  for  the  trappers.  The  burning  sun 
of  the  plains  shone  on  them,  scorching  them  to  faintness. 
Their  faces  were  begrimed  with  powder  and  dust ;  their 


THE    ESCAPE    BY    NIGHT THE    SOUTH    PARK.  157 

throats  parched,  and  tongues  swollen  with  thirst,  and  their 
whole  frames  aching  from  their  cramped  positions,  as  well 
as  the  excitement  and  fatigue  of  the  battle.  But  they 
dared  not  relax  their  vigilance  for  a  moment.  They  were 
fighting  for  their  lives,  and  they  meant  to  win. 

At  length  the  sun  set  on  that  bloody  and  wearisome 
day.  Forty-two  Camanches  were  killed,  and  several  more 
wounded,  for  the  charge  had  been  repeated  fifteen  or 
twenty  times.  The  Indians  drew  off  at  nightfall  to  mourn 
over  their  dead,  and  hold  a  council.  Probably  they  had 
lost  faith  in  their  medicines,  or  believed  that  the  trappers 
possessed  one  far  greater  than  any  of  theirs.  Under  the 
friendly  cover  of  the  night,  the  six  heroes  who  had  fought 
successfully  more  than  a  hundred  Camanches,  took  each 
his  blanket  and  his  gun,  and  bidding  a  brief  adieu  to  dead 
mules  and  beaver  packs,  set  out  to  return  to  camp. 

When  a  mountain-man  had  a  journey  to  perform  on  foot, 
to  travel  express,  or  to  escape  from  an  enemy,  he  fell  into 
what  is  called  a  dog  trot,  and  ran  in  that  manner,  some- 
times, all  day.  On  the  present  occasion,  the  six,  escaping 
for  life,  ran  all  night,  and  found  no  water  for  seventy-five 
mih  When  they  did  at  last  come  to  a  clear  running 
stream,  their  thankfulness  was  equal  to  their  necessity, 
"for,"  says  Meek,  "thirst  is  the  greatest  suffering  I  ever 
experienced.     It  is  far  worse  than  hunger  or  pain." 

Having  rested  and  refreshed  themselves  at  the  stream, 
they  kept  on  without  much  delay  until  they  reached  camp 
in  that  beautiful  valley  of  the  Rocky  Mountains  called  the 
New,  or  the  South  Park. 

While  they  remained  in  the  South  Park,  Mr.  Guthrie, 
one  of  the  Rocky  Mountain  Company's  traders,  was  killed 
by  lightning.  A  number  of  persons  were  collected  in  the 
lodge  of  the  Booshway,  Frapp,  to  avoid  the  rising  tempest, 
when  Guthrie,  who  was  leaning  against  the  lodge  pole, 


158     DEATH   OF    GUTHRIE. MEETING    WITH   BONNEVILLE. 

was  struck  by  a  flash  of  the  electric  current,  and  fell  dead 
instantly.  Frapp  rushed  out  of  the  lodge,  partly  bewil- 
dered himself  by  the  shock,  and  under  the  impression  that 
Guthrie  had  been  shot.  Frapp  was  a  German,  and  spoke 
English  somewhat  imperfectly.     In  the  excitement  of  the 

moment    he    shouted    out,    "  Py  ,    who   did   shoot 

Guttery !  " 

"    —  a' ,  I  expect:  He's  a  firing  into  camp;" 

drawled  out  Hawkins,  whose  ready  wit  was  very  disregard- 
ful  of  sacred  names  and  subjects. 

The  mountaineers  were  familiar  with  the  most  awful 
aspects  of  nature ;  and  if  their  familiarity  had  not  bred 
contempt,  it  had  at  least  hardened  them  to  those  solemn 
impressions  which  other  men  would  have  felt  under  their 
influence. 

From  New  Park,  Meek  traveled  north  with  the  main 
camp,  passing  first  to  the  Old  Park ;  thence  to  the  Little 
Snake,  a  branch  of  Bear  River ;  thence  to  Pilot  Butte ; 
and  finally  to  Green  River  to  rendezvous ;  having  traveled 
in  the  past  year  about  three  thousand  miles,  on  horseback, 
through  new  and  often  dangerous  countries.  It  is  easy  to 
believe  that  the  Monterey  expedition  was  the  popular 
theme  in  camp  during  rendezvous.  It  had  been  difficult 
to  get  volunteers  for  Bonneville's  Salt  Lake  Exploration : 
but  such  was  the  wild  adventure  to  which  it  led,  that  vol- 
unteering for  a  trip  to  Monterey  would  have  been  exceed- 
ingly popular  immediately  thereafter. 

On  Bear  River,  Bonneville's  men  fell  in  with  their  com- 
mander, Captain  Bonneville,  whose  disappointment  and 
indignation  at  the  failure  of  his  plans  was  exceedingly- 
great.  In  this  indignation  there  was  considerable  justice; 
yet  much  of  his  disappointment  was  owing  to  causes  which 
a  more  experienced  trader  would  have  avoided.  The  only 
conclusion  which  can  be  arrived  at  by  an  impartial  ob- 


RUINOUS   COMPETITION.  159 

server  of  the  events  of  1832-35,  is,  that  none  but  certain 
men  of  long  experience  and  liberal  means,  could  succeed 
in  the  business  of  the  fur-trade.  There  were  too  many 
chances  of  loss ;  too  many  wild  elements  to  be  mingled 
in  amity ;  and  too  powerful  opposition  from  the  old  estab- 
lished companies.  Captain  Bonneville's  experience  was 
no  different  from  Mr.  Wyeth's.  In  both  cases  there  was 
much  effort,  outlay,  and  loss.  Nor  was  their  failure  owing 
to  any  action  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company,  different 
from,  or  more  tyrannical,  than  the  action  of  the  American 
companies,  as  has  frequently  been  represented.  It  was 
the  American  companies  in  the  Rocky  Mountains  that 
drove  both  Bonneville  and  Wyeth  out  of  the  field.  Their 
inexperience  could  not  cope  with  the  thorough  knowledge 
of  the  business,  and  the  country,  which  their  older  rivals 
possessed.  Raw  recruits  were  no  match,  in  trapping  or 
fighting,  for  old  mountaineers:  and  those  veterans  who 
had  served  long  under  certain  leaders  could  not  be  in- 
veigled from  their  service  except  upon  the  most  extrava- 
gant offers;  and  these  extravagant  wages,  which  if  one 
paid,  the  other  must,  would  not  allow  a  profit  to  either  of 
the  rivals. 

"How  much  does  your  company  pay  you?"  asked  Bon- 
neville of  Meek,  to  whom  he  was  complaining  of  the  con- 
duct of  his  men  on  the  Monterey  expedition. 

"Fifteen  hundred  dollars,"  answered  Meek. 

'Yes:  and  /will  give  it  to  you,"  said  Bonneville  with 
bitterness. 

It  was  quite  true.  Such  was  the  competition  aroused 
by  the  Captain's  efforts  to  secure  good  men  and  pilots, 
that  rather  than  lose  them  to  a  rival  company,  the  Rocky 
Mountain  Company  paid  a  few  of  their  best  men  the  wa- 
ges above  named. 

11 


CHAPTER    X. 

1834.  The  gossip  at  rendezvous  was  this  year  of  an 
unusually  exciting  character.  Of  the  brigades  which  left 
for  different  parts  of  the  country  the  previous  summer, 
the  Monterey  travelers  were  not  the  only  ones  who  had 
met  with  adventures.  Fitzpatrick,  who  had  led  a  party 
into  the  Crow  country  that  autumn,  had  met  with  a  char- 
acteristic reception  from  that  nation  of  cunning  vaga- 
bonds. 

Being  with  his  party  on  Lougue  River,  in  the  early  part 
of  September,  he  discovered  that  he  was  being  dogged 
by  a  considerable  band  of  Crows,  and  endeavored  to  elude 
their  spying;  but  all  to  no  purpose.  The  Crow  chief 
kept  in  his  neighborhood,  and  finally  expressed  a  desire 
to  bring  his  camp  alongside  that  of  Fitzpatrick,  pretend- 
ing to  the  most  friendly  and  honorable  sentiments  toward 
his  white  neighbors.  But  not  feeling  any  confidence  in 
Crow  friendship,  Fitzpatrick  declined,  and  moved  camp  a 
few  miles  away.  Not,  however,  wishing  to  offend  the  dig- 
nity of  the  apparently  friendly  chief,  he  took  a  small  es- 
cort, and  went  to  pay  a  visit  to  his  Crow  neighbors,  that 
they  might  see  that  he  was  not  afraid  to  trust  them. 
Alas,  vain  subterfuge ! 

While  he  was  exchanging  civilities  with  the  Crow  chief, 
a  party  of  the  young  braves  stole  out  of  camp,  and  taking 
advantage  of  the  leader's,  absence,  made  an  attack  on  his 
camp,  so  sudden  and  successful  that  not  a  horse,  nor  any. 
thing  else  which  they  could  make  booty  of  was  left. 


HONOR  AMONG  THIEVES.  161 

Even  Captain  Stnart,  who  was  traveling  with  Fitzpatrick, 
and  who  was  an  active  officer,  was  powerless  to  resist  the 
attack,  and  had  to  consent  to  see  the  camp  rifled  of  every- 
thing valuable. 

In  the  meantime  Fitzpatrick,  after  concluding  his  visit 
in  the  most  amicable  manner,  was  returning  to  camp,  when 
he  was  met  by  the  exultant  braves,  who  added  insult  to 
injury  by  robbing  him  of  his  horse,  gun,  and  nearly  all 
his  clothes,  leaving  him  to  return  to  his  party  in  a  de- 
plorable condition,  to  the  great  amusement  of  the  trap- 
pers, and  his  own  chagrin. 

However,  the  next  day  a  talk  was  held  with  the  head 
chief  of  the  Crows,  to  whom  Fitzpatrick  represented  the 
infamy  of  such  treacherous  conduct  in  a  very  strong  light. 
In  answer  to  this  reproof,  the  chief  disowned  all  knowl- 
edge of  the  affair;  saying  that  he  could  not  always  con- 
trol the  conduct  of  the  young  men,  who  would  be  a  little 
wild  now  and  then,  in  spite  of  the  best  Crow  precepts : 
but  that  he  would  do  what  he  could  to  have  the  property 
restored.  Accordingly,  after  more  talk,  and  much  elo- 
quence on  the  part  of  Fitzpatrick,  the  chief  part  of  the 
plunder  was  returned  to  him,  including  the  horses  and 
rifles  of  the  men,  together  with  a  little  ammunition,  and  a 
few  beaver  traps. 

Fitzpatrick  understood  the  meaning  of  this  apparent 
fairness,  and  hastened  to  get  out  of  the  Crow  country  be- 
fore another  raid  by  the  mischievous  young  braves,  at  a 
time  when  their  chief  was  not  "honor  bound,"  should  de- 
prive him  of  the  recovered  property.  That  his  conjecture 
was  well  founded,  was  proven  by  the  numerous  petty 
thefts  which  were  committed,  and  by  the  loss  of  several 
horses  and  mules,  before  he  could  remove  them  beyond 
the  limits  of  the  Crow  territory. 

While  the  trappers  exchanged  accounts  of  their  indi- 


162  UNFAIR    TREATMENT    OF    WYETH. 

vidual  experiences,  the  leaders  had  more  important  mat- 
ters to  gossip  over.  The  rivalry  between  the  several  fur 
companies  was  now  at  its  climax.  Through  the  energy 
and  ability  of  Captain  Sublette  of  the  St.  Louis  Company, 
and  the  experience  and  industry  of  the  Rocky  Mountain 
Company,  which  Captain  Sublette  still  continued  to  con- 
trol in  a  measure,  the  power  still  remained  with  them. 
The  American  Company  had  never  been  able  to  cope  with 
them  in  the  Rocky  Mountains ;  and  the  St.  Louis  Com- 
pany were  already  invading  their  territory  on  the  Missouri 
River,  by  carrying  goods  up  that  river  in  boats,  to  trade 
with  the  Indians  under  the  very  walls  of  the  American 
Company's  forts. 

In  August  of  the  previous  year,  when  Mr.  Nathaniel 
"Wyeth  had  started  on  his  return  to  the  states,  he  was  ac- 
companied as  far  as  the  mouth  of  the  Yellowstone  by 
Milton  Sublette ;  and  had  engaged  with  that  gentleman 
to  furnish  him  with  goods  the  following  year,  as  he  be- 
lieved he  could  do,  cheaper  than  the  St.  Louis  Company, 
who  purchased  their  goods  in  St.  Louis  at  a  great  advance 
on  Boston  prices.  But  Milton  Sublette  fell  in  with  his 
brother  the  Captain,  at  the  mouth  of  the  Yellowstone, 
with  a  keel-boat  loaded  with  merchandise;  and  while 
Wyeth  pursued  his  way  eastward  to  purchase  the  Indian 
goods  which  were  intended  to  supply  the  wants  of  the 
fur-traders  in  the  Rocky  Mountains,  at  a  profit  to  him,  and 
an  advantage  to  them,  the  Captain  was  persuading  his 
brother  not  to  encourage  any  interlopers  in  the  Indian 
trade ;  but  to  continue  to  buy  goods  from  himself,  as  for- 
merly. So  potent  were  his  arguments,  that  Milton  yielded 
to  them,  in  spite  of  his  engagement  with  Wyeth.  Thus 
during  the  autumn  of  1833,  while  Bonneville  was  being 
wronged  and  robbed,  as  he  afterwards  became  convinced, 
by  his  men  under  Walker,  and  anticipated  in  the  hunting- 


Bonneville's  visit  to  wallah-wallah.  163 

ground  selected  for  himself,  in  the  Crow  country,  by  Fitz- 
patrick,  as  he  had  previously  been  in  the  Snake  country 
by  Milton  Sublette,  Wyeth  was  proceeding  to  Boston  in 
good  faith,  to  execute  what  proved  to  be  a  fool's  errand. 
Bonneville  also  had  gone  on  another,  when  after  the  trap- 
ping season  was  over  he  left  his  camp  to  winter  on  the 
Snake  River,  and  started  with  a  small  escort  to  visit  the 
Columbia,  and  select  a  spot  for  a  trading-post  on  the  lower 
portion  of  that  river.  On  arriving  at  Wallah- Wallah,  af- 
ter a  hard  journey  over  the  Blue  Mountains  in  the  winter, 
the  agent  at  that  post  had  refused  to  supply  him  with  pro- 
visions to  prosecute  his  journey,  and  given  him  to  under- 
stand that  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  might  be  polite 
and  hospitable  to  Captain  Bonneville  as  the  gentleman, 
but  that  it  was  against  their  regulations  to  encourage  the 
advent  of  other  traders  who  would  interfere  with  their 
business,  and  unsettle  the  minds  of  the  Indians  in  that 
region. 

This  reply  so  annoyed  the  Captain,  that  he  refused  the 
well  meant  advice  of  Mr.  Pambrun  that  he  should  not  un- 
dertake to  recross  the  Blue  Mountains  in  March  snows,  but 
travel  under  the  escort  of  Mr.  Payette,  one  of  the  Hud- 
son's Bay  Company's  leaders,  who  was  about  starting  for 
the  Nez  Perce  country  by  a  safer  if  more  circuitous  route. 
He  therefore  set  out  to  return  by  the  route  he  came, 
and  only  arrived  at  camp  in  May,  1834,  after  many  dan- 
gers and  difficulties.  From  the  Portneuf  River,  he  then 
proceeded  with  his  camp  to  explore  the  Little  Snake 
River,  and  Snake  Lake ;  and  it  was  while  so  doing  that 
he  fell  in  with  his  men  just  returned  from  Monterey. 

Such  was  the  relative  position  of  the  several  fur  com- 
panies in  the  Rocky  Mountains  in  1834 ;  and  it  was  of 
such  matters  that  the  leaders  talked  in  the  lodge  of  the 
Booshways,  at  rendezvous.     In  the  meantime  Wyeth  ar- 


164  wyeth's  threat FORT  hall. 

rived  in  the  mountains  with  his  goods,  as  he  had  con- 
tracted with  Milton  Sublette  in  the  previous  year.  But 
on  his  heels  came  Captain  Sublette,  also  with  goods,  and 
the  Rocky  Mountain  Company  violated  their  contract  with 
Wyeth,  and  purchased  of  their  old  leader. 

Thus  was  Wyeth  left,  with  his  goods  on  his  hands,  in  a 
country  where  it  was  impossible  to  sell  them,  and  useless 
to  undertake  an  opposition  to  the  already  established  fur- 
traders  and  trappers.  His  indignation  was  great,  and  cer- 
tainly was  just.  In  his  interview  with  the  Rocky  Moun- 
tain Company,  in  reply  to  their  excuses  for,  and  vindica- 
tion of  their  conduct,  his  answer  was : 

"  Gentlemen,  I  will  roll  a  stone  into  your  garden  that 
you  will  never  be  able  to  get  out." 

And  he  kept  his  promise;  for  that  same  autumn  he 
moved  on  to  the  Snake  River,  and  built  Fort  Hall,  storing 
his  goods  therein.  The  next  year  he  sold  out  goods  and 
fort  to  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company;  and  the  stone  was  in 
the  garden  of  the  Rocky  Mountain  Fur  Company  that, 
they  were  never  able  to  dislodge.  When  Wyeth  had  built 
his  fort  and  left  it  in  charge  of  an  agent,  he  dispatched  a 
party  of  trappers  to  hunt  in  the  Big  Blackfoot  country, 
under  Joseph  Gale,  who  had  previously  been  in  the  ser- 
vice of  the  Rocky  Mountain  Company,  and  of  whom  we 
shall  learn  more  hereafter,  while  he  set  out  for  the  Co- 
lumbia to  meet  his  vessel,  and  establish  a  salmon  fishery. 
The  fate  of  that  enterprise  has  already  been  recorded. 

As  for  Bonneville,  he  made  one  more  effort  to  reach  the 
lower  Columbia ;  failing,  however,  a  second  time,  for  the 
same  reason  as  before — he  could  not  subsist  himself  and 
company  in  a  country  where  even  every  Indian  refused  to 
sell  to  him  either  furs  or  provisions.  After  being  reduced 
to  horse-flesh,  and  finding  no  encouragement  that  his  con- 
dition would   be  improved   farther  down  the  river,   he 


DIVISION    OF    TERRITORY. 


165 


turned  back  once  more  from  about  Wallah- Wallah,  and 
returned  to  the  mountains,  and  from  there  to  the  east  in 
the  following  year-  A  company  of  his  trappers,  however, 
continued  to  hunt  for  him  east  of  the  mountains  for  two 
or  three  years  longer. 

The  rivalry  between  the  Rocky  Mountain  and  American 
Companies  was  this  year  diminished  by  their  mutually 
agreeing  to  confine  themselves  to  certain  parts  of  the 
country,  which  treaty  continued  for  two  years,  when  they 
united  in  one  company.  They  were  then,  with  the  excep- 
tion of  a  few  lone  traders,  the  only  competitors  of  the 
Hudson's  Bay  Company,  for  the  fur-trade  of  the  West. 


VIEW  ON   THE   COLUMBIA. 


CHAPTER    XI. 

1834  The  Rocky  Mountain  Company  now  confined 
themselves  to  the  country  lying  east  of  the  mountains, 
and  upon  the  head-waters  and  tributaries  of  the  Missouri, 
a  country  very  productive  in  furs,  and  furnishing  abund- 
ance of  game.  But  it  was  also  the  most  dangerous  of 
all  the  northern  fur-hunting  territory,  as  it  was  the  home 
of  those  two  nations  of  desperadoes,  the  Crows  and 
Blackfeet.  During  the  two  years  in  which  the  company 
may  have  been  said  almost  to  reside  there,  desperate  en- 
counters and  hair-breadth  escapes  were  incidents  of  daily 
occurrence  to  some  of  the  numerous  trapping  parties. 

The  camp  had  reached  the  Blackfoot  country  in  the 
autumn  of  this  year,  and  the  trappers  were  out  in  all 
directions,  hunting  beaver  in  the  numerous  small  streams 
that  flow  into  the  Missouri.  On  a  small  branch  of  the 
Gallatin  Fork,  some  of  the  trappers  fell  in  with  a  party 
of  Wyeth's  men,  under  Joseph  Gale.  When  their  neigh- 
borhood became  known  to  the  Rocky  Mountain  camp, 
Meek  and  a  party  of  sixteen  of  his  associates  immediately 
resolved  to  pay  them  a  visit,  and  inquire  into  their  expe- 
rience since  leaving  rendezvous.  These  visits  between 
different  camps  are  usually  seasons  of  great  interest  and 
general  rejoicing.  But  glad  as  Gale  and  his  men  were 
to  meet  with  old  friends,  when  the  first  burst  of  hearty 
greeting  was  over,  they  had  but  a  sorry  experience  to  re- 
late. They  had  been  out  a  long  time.  The  Blackfeet 
had  used  them  badly — several   men  had  been  killed. 


THE    VISITORS   BECOME    DEFENDERS.  167 

Their  guns  were  out  of  order,  their  ammunition  all  but 
exhausted ;  they  were  destitute,  or  nearly  so,  of  traps, 
blankets,  knives,  everything.  They  were  what  the  Indian 
and  the  mountain-man  call    "very  poor." 

Half  the  night  was  spent  in  recounting  all  that  had 
passed  in  both  companies  since  the  fall  hunt  began.  Little 
sympathy  did  Wyeth's  men  receive  for  their  forlorn  con- 
dition, for  sympathy  is  repudiated  by  your  true  moun- 
taineer for  himself,  nor  will  he  furnish  it  to  others.  The 
absurd  and  humorous,  or  the  daring  and  reckless,  side  of 
a  story  is  the  only  one  which  is  dwelt  upon  in  narrating 
his  adventures.  The  laugh  which  is  raised  at  his  expense 
when  he  has  a  tale  of  woes  to  communicate,  is  a  better 
tonic  to  his  dejected  spirits  than  the  gentlest  pity  would 
be.  Thus  lashed  into  courage  again,  he  is  ready  to  de- 
clare that  all  his  troubles  were  only  so  much  pastime. 

It  was  this  sort  of  cheer  which  the  trapping  party  con- 
veyed to  Wyeth's  men  on  this  visit,  and  it  was  gratefully 
received,  as  being  of  the  true  kind. 

In  the  morning  the  party  .set  out  to  return  to  camp, 
Meek  and  Liggit  starting  in  advance  of  the  others.  They 
had  not  proceeded  far  when  they  were  fired  on  by  a  large 
band  of  Blackfeet,  who  came  upon  them  quite  suddenly, 
and  thinking  these  two  trappers  easy  game,  set  up  a  yell 
and  dashed  at  them.  As  Meek  and  Liggit  turned  back 
and  ran  to  Gale's  camp,  the  Indians  in  full  chase  charged 
on  them,  and  rushed  pell-mell  into  the  midst  of  camp, 
almost  before  they  had  time  to  discover  that  they  had 
surprised  so  large  a  party  of  whites.  So  sudden  was 
their  advent,  that  they  had  almost  taken  the  camp  before 
the  whites  could  recover  from  the  confusion  of  the  charge. 

It  was  but  a  momentary  shock,  however.  In  another 
instant  the  roar  of  twenty  guns  reverberated  from  the 
mountains  that  rose  high  on  either  side  of  camp.     The 


168  FIGHTING    FOR   LIFE. 

Blackfeet  were  taken  in  a  snare  ;  but  they  rallied  and  fell 
back  beyond  the  grove  in  which  the  camp  was  situated, 
setting  on  fire  the  dry  grass  as  they  went.  The  fire 
quickly  spread  to  the  grove,  and  shot  up  the  pine  trees  in 
splendid  columns  of  flame,  that  seemed  to  lick  the  face 
of  heaven.  The  Indians  kept  close  behind  the  fire,  shoot- 
ing into  camp  whenever  they  could  approach  near  enough, 
the  trappers  replying  by  frequent  volleys.  The  yells  of 
the  savages,  the  noise  of  the  flames  roaring  in  the  trees, 
the  bellowing  of  the  guns,  whose  echoes  rolled  among 
the  hills,  and  the  excitement  of  a  battle  for  life,  made  the 
scene  one  long  to  be  remembered  with  distinctness. 

Both  sides  fought  with  desperation.  The  Blackfoot 
blood  was  up — the  trapper  blood  no  less.  Gale's  men, 
from  having  no  ammunition,  nor  guns  that  were  in  order, 
could  do  little  more  than  take  charge  of  the  horses,  which 
they  led  out  into  the  bottom  land  to  escape  the  fire,  fight 
the  flames,  and  look  after  the  camp  goods.  The  few 
whose  guns  were  available,  showed  the  game  spirit,  and 
the  fight  became  interesting  as  an  exhibition  of  what 
mountain  white  men  could  do  in  a  contest  of  one  to  ten, 
with  the  crack  warriors  of  the  red  race.  It  was,  at  any 
time,  a  game  party,  consisting  of  Meek,  Carson,  Hawkins, 
Gale,  Liggit,  Rider,  Robinson,  Anderson,  Russel,  Larison, 
Ward,  Parmaley,  Wade,  Michael  Head,  and  a  few  others 
whose  names  have  been  forgotten. 

The  trappers  being  driven  out  of  the  grove  by  the  fire, 
were  forced  to  take  to  the  open  ground.  The  Indians, 
following  the  fire,  had  the  advantage  of  the  shelter 
afforded  by  the  trees,  and  their  shots  made  havoc  among 
the  horses,  most  of  which  were  killed  because  they  could 
not  be  taken.  As  for  the  trappers,  they  used  the  horses 
for  defence,  making  rifle-pits  behind  them,  when  no  other 
covert  could  be  found.     In  this  manner  the  battle  was 


THE   TRAPPEKS'   VICTORY.  169 

sustained  until  three  o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  without  loss 
of  life  to  the  whites,  though  several  men  were  wounded. 

At  three  in  the  afternoon,  the  Blackfoot  chief  ordered 
a  retreat,  calling  out  to  the  trappers  that  they  would  fight 
no  more.  Though  their  loss  had  been  heavy,  they  still 
greatly  outnumbered  the  whites  ;  nor  would  the  condition 
of  the  arms  and  the  small  amount  of  ammunition  left 
permit  the  trappers  to  pursue  them.  The  Indians  were 
severely  beaten,  and  no  longer  in  a  condition  to  fight,  all 
of  which  was  highly  satisfactory  to  the  victors.  The  only 
regret  was,  that  Bridger's  camp,  which  had  become  aware 
during  the  day  that  a  battle  was  going  on  in  the  neigh- 
borhood, did  not  arrive  early  enough  to  exterminate  the 
whole  band.  As  it  was,  the  big  camp  only  came  up  in 
time  to  assist  in  taking  care  of  the  wounded.  The  de- 
struction of  their  horses  put  an  end  Jo  the  independent 
existence  of  Gale's  brigade,  which  joined  itself  and  its 
fortunes  to  Bridger's  command  for  the  remainder  of  the 
year.  Had  it  not  been  for  the  fortunate  visit  of  the  trap- 
pers to  Gale's  camp,  without  doubt  every  man  in  it  would 
have  perished  at  the  hands  of  the  Blackfeet :  a  piece  of 
bad  fortune  not  unaccordant  with  that  which  seemed  to 
pursue  the  enterprises  set  on  foot  by  the  active  but  un- 
lucky New  England  trader. 

Not  long  after  this  battle  with  the  Blackfeet,  Meek  and 
a  trapper  named  Crow,  with  two  Shawnees,  went  over 
into  the  Crow  Country  to  trap  on  Pryor's  River,  a  branch 
of  the  Yellowstone.  On  coming  to  the  pass  in  the  moun- 
tains between  the  Gallatin  Fork  of  the  Missouri  and  the 
great  bend  in  the  Yellowstone,  called  Pryor's  Gap,  Meek 
rode  forward,  with  the  mad-cap  spirit  strong  in  him,  to 
"  have  a  little  fun  with  the  boys,"  and  advancing  a  short 
distance  into  the  pass,  wheeled  suddenly,  and  came  racing 
back,  whooping  and  yelling,  to  make  his  comrades  think 


170  CHASED    BY   INDIANS — A   BLACKFOOT    AMBUSH. 

he  had  discovered  Indians.  And  lo !  as  if  his  yells  had 
invoked  them  from  the  rocks  and  trees,  a  war  party  sud- 
denly emerged  from  the  pass,  on  the  heels  of  the  jester, 
and  what  had  been  sport  speedily  became  earnest,  as  the 
trappers  turned  their  horses'  heads  and  made  off  in  the 
direction  of  camp.  They  had  a  fine  race  of  it,  and  heard 
other  yells  and  war-whoops  besides  their  own ;  but  they 
contrived  to  elude  their  pursuers,  returning  safe  to  camp. 

This  freak  of  Meek's  was,  after  all,  a  fortunate  inspira- 
tion, for  had  the  four  trappers  entered  the  pass  and  come 
upon  the  war  party  of  Crows,  they  would  never  have  es- 
caped alive. 

A  few  days  after,  the  same  party  set  out  again,  and 
succeeded  in  reaching  Pryor's  River  unmolested,  and  set- 
ting their  traps.  They  remained  some  time  in  this  neigh- 
borhood trapping,  but  the  season  had  become  pretty  well 
advanced,  and  they  were  thinking  of  returning  to  camp 
for  the  winter.  The  Shawnees  set  out  in  one  direction 
to  take  up  their  traps,  Meek  and  Crow  in  another.  The 
stream  where  their  traps  were  set  was  bordered  by  thick- 
ets of  willow,  wild  cherry,  and  plum  trees,  and  the  bank 
was  about  ten  feet  above  the  water  at  this  season  of  the 
year. 

Meek  had  his  traps  set  in  the  stream  about  midway  be- 
tween two  thickets.  As  he  approached  the  river  he  ob- 
served with  the  quick  eye  of  an  experienced  mountain- 
man,  certain  signs  which  gave  him  little  satisfaction.  The 
buffalo  were  moving  off  as  if  disturbed ;  a  bear  ran  sud- 
denly out  of  its  covert  among  the  willows. 

"  I  told  Crow,"  said  Meek,  "that  I  didn't  like  to  go  in 
there.  He  laughed  at  me,  and  called  me  a  coward.  '  All 
the  same,'  I  said ;  I  had  no  fancy  for  the  place  just  then 
— I  didn't  like  the  indications.  But  he  kept  jeering  me, 
and  at  last  I  got  mad  and  started  in.     Just  as  I  got  to  my 


A   RUNNING    FIGHT.  171 

traps,  I  discovered  that  two  red  devils  war  a  watching  me 
from  the  shelter  of  the  thicket  to  my  left,  about  two  rods 
off.  When  they  saw  that  they  war  discovered  they  raised 
their  guns  and  fired.  I  turned  my  horse's  head  at  the 
same  instant,  and  one  ball  passed  through  his  neck,  under 
the  neck  bone,  and  the  other  through  his  withers,  just 
forward  of  my  saddle. 

"  Seeing  that  they  had  not  hit  me,  one  of  them  ran  up 
with  a  spear  to  spear  me.  My  horse  war  rearing  and  pitch- 
ing from  the  pain  of  his  wounds,  so  that  I  could  with  diffi- 
culty govern  him ;  but  I  had  my  gun  laid  across  my  arm, 
and  when  I  fired  I  killed  the  rascal  with  the  spear.  Up 
to  that  moment  I  had  supposed  that  them  two  war  all  I 
had  to  deal  with.  But  as  I  got  my  horse  turned  round, 
with  my  arm  raised  to  fire  at  the  other  red  devil,  I  encoun- 
tered the  main  party,  forty-nine  of  them,  who  war  in  the 
bed  of  the  stream,  and  had  been  covered  by  the  bank. 
They  fired  a  volley  at  me.  Eleven  balls  passed  through 
my  blanket,  under  my  arm,  which  war  raised.  I  thought 
it  time  to  run,  and  run  I  did.  Crow  war  about  two  hun- 
dred yards  off.  So  quick  had  all  this  happened,  that  he 
had  not  stirred  from  the  spot  whar  I  left  him.  When  I 
came  up  to  him  I  called  out  that  I  must  get  on  behind 
him,  for  my  horse  war  sick  and  staggering. 

"  'Try  him  again,'  said  Crow,  who  war  as  anxious  to  be 
off  as  I  war.  I  did  try  him  agin,  and  sure  enough,  he  got 
up  a  gallop,  and  away  we  went,  the  Blackfeet  after  us. 
But  being  mounted,  we  had  the  advantage,  and  soon  dis- 
tanced them.  Before  we  had  run  a  mile,  I  had  to  dismount 
and  breathe  my  horse.  We  war  in  a  narrow  pass  whar  it 
war  impossible  to  hide,  so  when  the  Indians  came  up  with 
us,  as  they  did,  while  I  war  dismounted  we  took  sure  aim 
and  killed  the  two  foremost  ones.  Before  the  others  could 
get  close  enough  to  fire  we  war  off  agin.     It  didn't  take 


172  ESCAPE. 

much  urging  to  make  my  horse  go  then,  for  the  yells  of 
them  Blackfeet  spurred  him  on. 

"When  we  had  run  another  mile  I  dismounted  agin,  for 
fear  that  my  horse  would  give  out,  and  agin  we  war  over- 
taken. Them  Blackfeet  are  powerful  runners: — no  better 
than  us  mountain-men,  though.  This  time  we  served 
them  just  as  we  did  before.  We  picked  off  two  of  the 
foremost,  and  then  went  on,  the  rest  whooping  after  us. 
We  war  overtaken  a  third  time  in  the  same  manner ;  and 
the  third  time  two  Blackfeet  fell  dead  in  advance.  At  this, 
they  took  the  hint.  Six  warriors  already  gone  for  two 
white  scalps  and  two  horses ;  they  didn't  know  how  many 
more  would  go  in  the  same  way.  And  I  reckon  they  had 
run  about  all  they  wanted  to,  anyway." 

It  is  only  necessary  to  add  that  Meek  and  Crow  arrived 
safely  at  camp ;  and  that  the  Shawnees  came  in  after  a  day 
or  two  all  right.  Soon  after  the  whole  command  under 
Bridger  moved  on  to  the  Yellowstone,  and  went  into  win- 
ter camp  in  the  great  bend  of  that  river,  where  buffalo 
were  plenty,  and  cotton-wood  was  in  abundance. 

1835.  Towards  spring,  however,  the  game  had  nearly 
all  disappeared  from  the  neighborhood  of  the  camp ;  and 
the  hunters  were  forced  to  follow  the  buffalo  in  their  mi- 
gration eastward.  On  one  of  these  expeditions  a  party 
of  six  trappers,  including  Meek,  and  a  man  named  Rose, 
made  their  camp  on  Clarke's  fork  of  the  Yellowstone. 
The  first  night  in  camp  Rose  had  a  dream  with  which  he 
was  very  much  impressed.  He  dreamed  of  shaking  hands 
with  a  large  white  bear,  which  insisted  on  taking  his  right 
hand  for  that  friendly  ceremony.  He  had  not  given  it 
very  willingly,  for  he  knew  too  much  about  bears  in  gen- 
eral to  desire  to  be  on  very  intimate  terms  with  them. 

Seeing  that  the  dream  troubled  Rose,  who  was  supersti- 
tiously  inclined,  Meek  resorted  to  that  "  certain  medicine 


A   SINGULAR   DREAM   AND   ITS  INTERPRETATION.  173 

for  minds  diseased  "  which  was  in  use  in  the  mountains,  and 
added  to  the  distress  of  Rose  his  interpretation,  in  the 
spirit  of  ridicule,  telling  him  that  he  was  an  adept  in  the 
matter  of  dreams,  and  that  unless  he,  Rose,  was  very  mind- 
ful of  himself  that  day,  he  would  shake  hands  with  Beel- 
zebub before  he  slept  again. 

With  this  comforting  assurance,  Rose  set  out  with  the 
remainder  of  the  party  to  hunt  buffalo.  They  had  pro 
ceeded  about  three  miles  from  camp,  Rose  riding  in  ad- 
vance, when  they  suddenly  encountered  a  company  of 
Blackfeet,  nine  in  number,  spies  from  a  war  party  of  one 
hundred  and  fifty,  that  was  prowling  and  marauding 
through  the  country  on  the  lookout  for  small  parties  from 
the  camp  of  Bridger.  The  Blackfeet  fired  on  the  party 
as  it  came  up,  from  their  place  of  concealment,  a  ball  strik- 
ing Rose's  right  arm,  and  breaking  it  at  the  elbow.  This 
caused  his  gun  to  fall,  and  an  Indian  sprang  forward  and 
raised  it  up  quickly,  aiming  it  at  Meek.  The  ball  passed 
through  his  cap  without  doing  any  other  harm.  By  this 
time  the  trappers  were  made  aware  of  an  ambuscade ;  but 
how  numerous  the  enemy  was  they  could  not  determine. 
However,  as  the  rest,  who  were  well  mounted,  turned  to 
fly,  Meek,  who  was  riding  an  old  mule  that  had  to  be  beaten 
over  the  head  to  make  it  go,  seeing  that  he  was  going  to 
be  left  behind,  called  out  lustily,  "  hold  on,  boys !  There's 
not  many  of  them.  Let's  stop  and  fight  'em;"  at  the 
same  time  pounding  the  mule  over  the  head,  but  without 
effect.  The  Indians  saw  the  predicament,  and  ran  up  to 
seize  the  mule  by  the  bridle,  but  the  moment  the  mule  got 
wind  of  the  savages,  away  he  went,  racing  like  a  thorough- 
bred, jumping  impediments,  and  running  right  over  a  ra- 
vine, which  was  fortunately  filled  with  snow.  This  move- 
ment brought  Meek  out  ahead. 

The  other  men  then  began  to  call  out  to  Meek  to  stop 


174  meek's  mule  story. 

and  fight.  "  Run  for  your  lives,  boys,"  roared  Meek  back 
at  them,  "there's  ten  thousand  of  them;  they'll  kill  every 
one  of  you !  " 

The  mule  had  got  his  head,  and  there  was  no  more  stop- 
ping him  than  there  had  been  starting  him.  On  he  went 
in  the  direction  of  the  Yellowstone,  while  the  others  made 
for  Clarke's  Fork.  On  arriving  at  the  former  river,  Meek 
found  that  some  of  the  pack  horses  had  followed  him, 
and  others  the  rest  of  the  party.  This  had  divided  the 
Indians,  three  or  four  of  whom  were  on  his  trail.  Spring- 
ing off  his  mule,  he  threw  his  blankets  down  on  the  ice, 
and  by  moving  them  alternately  soon  crossed  the  mule 
over  to  the  opposite  side,  just  in  time  to  avoid  a  bullet  that 
came  whistling  after  him.  As  the  Indians  could  not  fol- 
low, he  pursued  his  way  to  camp  in  safety,  arriving  late 
that  evening.  The  main  party  were  already  in  and  expect- 
ing him.  Soon  after,  the  buffalo  hunters  returned  to  the 
big  camp,  minus  some  pack  horses,  but  with  a  good  story 
to  tell,  at  the  expense  of  Meek,  and  which  he  enjoys  tell- 
ing of  himself  to  this  day. 


CHAPTER    XII. 

1835.  Owing  to  the  high  rate  of  pay  which  Meek  was 
now  able  to  command,  he  began  to  think  of  imitating  the 
example  of  that  distinguished  order,  the  free  trappers,  to 
which  he  now  belonged,  and  setting  up  a  lodge  to  himself 
as  a  family  man.  The  writer  of  this  veracious  history  has 
never  been  able  to  obtain  a  full  and  particular  account  of 
our  hero's  earliest  love  adventures.  This  is  a  subject  on 
which,  in  common  with  most  mountain-men,  he  observes  a 
becoming  reticence.  But  of  one  thing  we  feel  quite  well 
assured:  that  from  the  time  when  the  young  Shoshonie 
beauty  assisted  in  the  rescue  of  himself  and  Sublette  from 
the  execution  of  the  death  sentence  at  the  hands  of  her 
people,  Meek  had  always  cherished  a  rather  more  than 
friendly  regard  for  the  "Mountain  Lamb." 

But  Sublette,  with  wealth  and  power,  and  the  privileges 
of  a  Booshway,  had  hastened  to  secure  her  for  himself; 
and  Meek  had  to  look  and  long  from  afar  off,  until,  in  the 
year  of  which  we  are  writing,  Milton  Sublette  was  forced 
to  leave  the  mountains  and  repair  to  an  eastern  city  for 
surgical  aid ;  having  received  a  very  troublesome  wound 
in  the  leg,  which  was  only  cured  at  last  by  amputation. 

Whether  it  was  the  act  of  a  gay  Lothario,  or  whether 
the  law  of  divorce  is  even  more  easy  in  the  mountains 
than  in  Indiana,  we  have  always  judiciously  refrained  from 
inquiring;  but  this  we  do  know,  upon  the  word  of  Meek 
himself,  no  sooner  was  Milton's  back  turned,  than  his  friend 
12 


17G  HER   DRESS,    HORSE,    AND    EQUIPMENTS. 

so  insinuated  himself  into  the  good  graces  of  his  Isabel, 
as  Sublette  was  wont  to  name  the  lovely  Umentucken,  that 
she  consented  to  join  her  fortunes  to  those  of  the  handsome 
young  trapper  without  even  the  ceremony  of  serving  a 
notice  on  her  former  lord.  As  their  season  of  bliss  only 
extended  over  one  brief  year,  this  chapter  shall  be  entirely 
devoted  to  recording  such  facts  as  have  been  imparted  to 
us  concerning  this  free  trapper's  wife. 

"  She  was  the  most  beautiful  Indian  woman  I  ever  saw," 
says  Meek:  "and  when  she  was  mounted  on  her  dapple 
gray  horse,  which  cost  me  three  hundred  dollars,  she 
made  a  fine  show.  She  wore  a  skirt  of  beautiful  blue 
broadcloth,  and  a  bodice  and  leggins  of  scarlet  cloth,  of 
the  very  finest  make.  Her  hair  was  braided  and  fell  over 
her  shoulders,  a  scarlet  silk  handkerchief,  tied  on  hood 
fashion,  covered  her  head;  and  the  finest  embroidered 
moccasins  her  feet.  She  rode  like  all  the  Indian  women, 
astride,  and  carried  on  one  side  of  the  saddle  the  toma- 
hawk for  war,  and  on  the  other  the  pipe  of  peace. 

"  The  name  of  her  horse  was  "  All  Fours."  His  accou- 
trements were  as  fine  as  his  rider's.  The  saddle,  crupper, 
and  bust  girths  cost  one  hundred  and  fifty  dollars ;  the 
bridle  fifty  dollars ;  and  the  musk-a-moots  fifty  dollars  more. 
All  these  articles  were  ornamented  with  fine  cut  glass  beads, 
porcupine  quills,  and  hawk's  bells,  that  tinkled  at  every  step. 
Her  blankets  were  of  scarlet  and  blue,  and  of  the  finest 
quality.  Such  was  the  outfit  of  the  trapper's  wife,  Umen- 
tucken, Tukutey  Undemvatsy,  the  Lamb  of  the  Mountains." 

Although  Umentucken  was  beautiful,  and  had  a  name 
signifying  gentleness,  she  was  not  without  a  will  and  a 
spirit  of  her  own,  when  the  occasion  demanded  it.  While 
the  camp  was  on  the  Yellowstone  River,  in  the  summer  of 
1835,  a  party  of  women  left  it  to  go  in  search  of  berries, 
which  were  often  dried  and  stored  for  winter  use  by  the 


umentucken's  quarrel  with  the  trapper.        177 

Indian  women.  Umentucken  accompanied  this  party, 
which  was  attacked  by  a  band  of  Blackfeet,  some  of  the 
squaws  being  taken  prisoners.  But  Umentucken  saved 
herself  by  flight,  and  by  swimming  the  Yellowstone  while 
a  hundred  guns  were  leveled  on  her,  the  bullets  whistling 
about  her  ears. 

At  another  time  she  distinguished  herself  in  camp  by  a 
quarrel  with  one  of  the  trappers,  in  which  she  came  off 
with  flying  colors.  The  trapper  was  a  big,  bullying  Irish- 
man named  O'Fallen,  who  had  purchased  two  prisoners 
from  the  Snake  Indians,  to  be  kept  in  a  state  of  slavery, 
after  the  manner  of  the  savages.  The  prisoners  were 
Utes,  or  Utahs,  who  soon  contrived  to  escape.  O'Fallen, 
imagining  that  Umentucken  had  liberated  them,  threatened 
to  whip  her,  and  armed  himself  with  a  horsewhip  for  that 
purpose.  On  hearing  of  these  threats  Umentucken  re- 
paired to  her  lodge,  and  also  armed  herself,  but  with  a 
pistol.  When  O'Fallen  approached,  the  whole  camp  look- 
ing on  to  see  the  event,  Umentucken  slipped  out  at  the 
back  of  the  lodge  and  coming  around  confronted  him  be- 
fore he  could  enter. 

"Coward!"  she  cried.  "You  would  whip  the  wife  of 
Meek.  He  is  not  here  to  defend  me ;  not  here  to  kill  you. 
But  I  shall  do  that  for  myself,"  and  with  that  she  presented 
the  pistol  to  his  head.  O'Fallen  taken  by  surprise,  and 
having  every  reason  to  believe  she  would  keep  her  word, 
and  kill  him  on  the  spot,  was  obliged  not  only  to  apologize, 
but  to  beg  to  have  his  life  spared.  This  Umentucken  con- 
sented to  do  on  condition  of  his  sufficiently  humbling  him- 
self, which  he  did  in  a  very  shame-faced  manner ;  and  a  shout 
then  went  up  from  the  whole  camp — "  hurrah  for  the 
Mountain  Lamb!"  for  nothing  more  delights  a  mountain- 
eer than  a  show  of  pluck,  especially  in  an  unlooked  for 
quarter. 


178     UMENTUCKEN   CAPTURED   BY  CROWS. HER   RESCUE. 

The  Indian  wives  of  the  trappers  were  often  in  great 
peril,  as  well  as  their  lords.  Whenever  it  was  convenient 
they  followed  them  on  their  long  marches  through  dan- 
gerous countries.  But  if  the  trapper  was  only  going  out 
for  a  few  days,  or*if  the  march  before  him  was  more*  than 
usually  dangerous,  the  wife  remained  with  the  main  camp. 

During  this  year  of  which  we  are  writing,  a  considera- 
ble party  had  been  out  on  Powder  River  hunting  buffalo, 
taking  their  wives  along  with  them.  When  on  the  return, 
just  before  reaching  camp,  Umentucken  was  missed  from 
the  cavalcade.  She  had  fallen  behind,  and  been  taken 
prisoner  by  a  party  of  twelve  Crow  Indians.  As  soon  as 
she  was  missed,  a  volunteer  party  mounted  their  buffalo 
horses  in  such  haste  that  they  waited  not  for  saddle  or  bri- 
dle, but  snatched  only  a  halter,  and  started  back  in  pursuit. 
They  had  not  run  a  very  long  distance  when  they  discov- 
ered poor  Umentucken  in  the  midst  of  her  jubilant  captors, 
who  were  delighting  their  eyes  with  gazing  at  her  fine 
feathers,  and  promising  themselves  very  soon  to  pluck  the 
gay  bird,  and  appropriate  her  trinkets  to  their  own  use. 

Their  delight  was  premature.  Swift  on  their  heels  came 
an  avenging,  as  well  as  a  saving  spirit.  Meek,  at  the 
head  of  his  six  comrades,  no  sooner  espied  the  drooping 
form  of  the  Lamb,  than  he  urged  his  horse  to  the  top  of 
its  speed.  The  horse  was  a  spirited  creature,  that  seeing 
something  wrong  in  all  these  hasty  maneuvers,  took  fright 
and  adding  terror  to  good  will,  ran  with  the  speed  of  mad- 
ness right  in  amongst  the  startled  Crows,  who  doubtless 
regarded  as  a  great  "medicine"  so  fearless  a  warrior.  It 
was  now  too  late  to  be  prudent,  and  Meek  began  the  bat- 
tle by  yelling  and  firing,  taking  care  to  hit  his  Indian. 
The  other  trappers,  emulating  the  bold  example  of  their 
leader,  dashed  into  the  melee  and  a  chance  medley  fight 
was  carried  on,  in  which  Umentucken  escaped,  and  another 


AN    INSULT    TO    UMENTUCKEN    AVENGED    BY    MEEK.       179 

Crow  bit  the  dust.  Finding  that  they  were  getting  the 
worst  of  the  fight,  the  Indians  at  length  took  to  flight, 
and  the  trappers  returned  to  camp  rejoicing,  and  compli- 
menting Meek  on  his  gallantry  in  attacking  the  Crows 
single-handed. 

"I  took  their  compliments  quite  naturally,"  says  Meek, 
"  nor  did  I  think  it  war  worth  while  to  explain  to  them 
that  I  couldn't  hold  my  horse." 

The  Indians  are  lordly  and  tyrannical  in  their  treatment 
of  women,  thinking  it  no  shame  to  beat  them  cruelly ; 
even  taking  the  liberty  of  striking  other  women  than  those 
belonging  to  their  own  families.  While  the  camp  was  trav- 
eling through  the  Crow  country  in  the  spring  of  1836,  a 
party  of  that  nation  paid  a  visit  to  Bridger,  bringing  skins 
to  trade  for  blankets  and  ammunition.  The  bargaining 
went  on  quite  pleasantly  for  some  time ;  but  one  of 
the  braves  who  was  promenading  about  camp  inspecting 
whatever  came  in  his  way,  chanced  to  strike  Umentucken 
with  a  whip  he  carried  in  his  hand,  by  way  of  displaying 
his  superiority  to  squaws  in  general,  and  trappers'  wives 
in  particular.  It  was  an  unlucky  blow  for  the  brave,  for 
in  another  instant  he  rolled  on  the  ground,  shot  dead  by 
a  bullet  from  Meek's  gun. 

At  this  rash  act  the  camp  was  in  confusion.  Yells  from 
the  Crows,  who  took  the  act.  as  a  signal  for  war ;  hasty 
questions,  and  cries  of  command ;  arming  and  shooting. 
It  was  some  time  before  the  case  could  be  explained  or 
understood.  The  Crows  had  two  or  three  of  their  party 
shot ;  the  whites  also  lost  a  man.  After  the  unpremedita- 
ted fight  was  over,  and  the  Crows  departed  not  thoroughly 
satisfied  with  the  explanation,  Bridger  went  round  to 
Meek's  lodge. 

"  Well,  you  raised  a  hell  of  a  row  in  camp ; "  said  the 
commander,  rolling  out  his  deep  bass  voice  in  the  slow 


180   THE  FEMALE  ELEMENT DEATH  OF  UMENTUCKEN. 

monotonous  tones  which  mountain  men  very  quickly  ac- 
quire from  the  Indians. 

*  Very  sorry,  Bridger ;  but  couldn't  help  it.  No  devil 
of  an  Indian  shall  strike  Meek's  wife." 

"  But  you  got  a  man  killed." 

"  Sorry  for  the  man  ;  couldn't  help  it,  though,  Bridger." 

And  in  truth  it  was  too  late  to  mend  the  matter.  Fear- 
ing, however,  that  the  Crows  would  attempt  to  avenge 
themselves  for  the  losses  they  had  sustained,  Bridger  hur- 
ried his  camp  forward,  and  got  out  of  their  neighborhood 
as  quickly  as  possible. 

So  much  for  the  female  element  in  the  camp  of  the 
Rocky  Mountain  trapper.  Woman,  it  is  said,  has  held  the 
apple  of  discord,  from  mother  Eve  to  Umentucken,  and 
in  consonance  with  this  theory,  Bridger,  doubtless,  con- 
sidered the  latter  as  the  primal  cause  of  the  unfortunate 
"  row  in  camp,"  rather  than  the  brutality  of  the  Crow,  or 
the  imprudence  of  Meek. 

But  Umentucken's  career  was  nearly  run.  In  the  fol- 
lowing summer  she  met  her  death  by  a  Bannack  arrow ; 
dying  like  a  warrior,  although  living  she  was  only  a  woman. 


CHAPTER    XIII. 

1835.  The  rendezvous  of  the  Rocky  Mountain  Com- 
pany seldom  took  place  without  combining  with  its  many 
wild  elements,  some  other  more  civilized  and  refined. 
Artists,  botanists,  travelers,  and  hunters,  from  the  busy 
world  outside  the  wilderness,  frequently  claimed  the  com- 
panionship, if  not  the. hospitality  of  the  fur  companies,  in 
their  wanderings  over  prairies  and  among  mountains.  Up 
to  the  year  1835,  these  visitors  had  been  of  the  classes 
just  named ;  men  traveling  either  for  the  love  of  adven- 
ture, to  prosecute  discoveries  in  science,  or  to  add  to  art 
the  treasure  of  new  scenes  and  subjects. 

But  in  this  year  there  appeared  at  rendezvous  two  gen- 
tlemen, who  had  accompanied  the  St.  Louis  Company  in 
its  outward  trip  to  the  mountains,  whose  object  was  not 
the  procurement  of  pleasure,  or  the  improvement  of  sci- 
ence. They  had  come  to  found  missions  among  the  In- 
dians ;  the  Rev.  Samuel  Parker  and  Rev.  Dr.  Marcus 
Whitman ;  the  first  a  scholarly  and  fastidious  man,  and 
the  other  possessing  all  the  boldness,  energy,  and  contempt 
of  fastidiousness,  which  would  have  made  him  as  good  a 
mountain  leader,  as  he  was  an  energetic  servant  of  the 
American  Board  of  Foreign  Missions. 

The  cause  which  had  brought  these  gentlemen  to  the 
wilderness  was  a  little  incident  connected  with  the  fur 
trade.  Four  Flathead  Indians,  in  the  year  1832,  having 
heard  enough  of  the  Christian  religion,  from  the  few  de- 


182        Bonneville's  account  of  the  nez  perces. 

vout  men  connected  with  the  fur  companies,  to  desire  to 
know  more,  performed  a  winter  journey  to  St.  Louis,  and 
there  made  inquiry  about  the  white  man's  religion.  This 
incident,  which  to  any  one  acquainted  with  Indian  charac- 
ter, would  appear  a  very  natural  one,  when  it  became 
known  to  Christian  churches  in  the  United  States,  excited 
a  very  lively  interest,  and  seemed  to  call  upon  them  like 
a  voice  out  of  heaven,  to  fly  to  the  rescue  of  perishing 
heathen  souls.  The  Methodist  Church  was  the  first  to  re- 
spond. When  Wyeth  returned  to  the  mountains  in  1834, 
four  missionaries  accompanied  him,  destined  for  the  valley 
of  the  Wallamet  River  in  Oregon.  In  the  following  year, 
the  Presbyterian  Church  sent  out  its  agents,  the  two  gen- 
tlemen above  mentioned;  one  of  whom,  Dr.  Whitman, 
subsequently  located  near  Fort  Walla- Walla. 

The  account  given  by  Capt.  Bonneville  of  the  Flatheads 
and  Nez  Perces,  as  he  found  them  in  1832,  before  mission- 
ary labor  had  been  among  them,  throws  some  light  on  the 
incident  of  the  journey  to  St.  Louis,  which  so  touched  the 
Christian  heart  in  the  United  States.  After  relating  his 
surprise  at  finding  that  the  Nez  Perces  observed  certain 
sacred  days,  he  continues :  "  A  few  days  afterwards,  four 
of  them  signified  that  they  were  about  to  hunt.  '  What !' 
exclaimed  the  captain,  '  without  guns  or  arrows ;  and 
with  only  one  old  spear  ?  What  do  you  expect  to  kill  ? ' 
They  smiled  among  themselves,  but  made  no  answer. 
Preparatory  to  the  chase,  they  performed  some  religious 
rights,  and  offered  up  to  the  Great  Spirit  a  few  short 
prayers  for  safety  and  success ;  then  having  received  the 
blessing  of  their  wives,  they  leaped  upon  their  horses  and 
departed,  leaving  the  whole  party  of  Christian  spectators 
amazed  and  rebuked  by  this  lesson  of  faith  and  depend- 
ence on  a  supreme  and  benevolent  Being.  Accustomed 
as  I  had  heretofore  been  to  find  the  wretched  Indian  rev- 


AN    ENTHUSIASTIC    VIEW    OF    INDIAN    CHARACTER.         183 

eling  in  blood,  and  stained  by  every  vice  which  can  de- 
grade human  nature,  I  could  scarcely  realize  the  scene 
which  I  had  witnessed.  Wonder  at  such  unaffected  ten- 
derness and  piety,  where  it  was  least  to  have  been  sought, 
contended  in  all  our  bosoms  with  shame  and  confusion,  at 
receiving  such  pure  and  wholesome  instructions  from 
creatures  so  far  below  us  in  all  the  arts  and  comforts 
of  life. 

"  Simply  to  call  these  people  religious,"  continued  Bonne- 
ville, "  would  convey  but  a  faint  idea  of  the  deep  hue  of 
piety  and  devotion  which  pervades  their  whole  conduct. 
Their  honesty  is  immaculate,  and  their  purity  of  purpose, 
and  their  observance  of  the  rites  of  their  religion,  are 
most  uniform  and  remarkable.  They  are  certainly  more 
like  a  nation  of  saints  than  a  horde  of  savages." 

This  was  a  very  enthusiastic  view  to  take  of  the  Nez 
Perce  character,  which  appeared  all  the  brighter  to  the 
Captain,  by  contrast  with  the  savage  life  which  he  had 
witnessed  in  other  places,  and  even  by  contrast  with  the 
conduct  of  the  white  trappers.  But  the  Nez  Perces  and 
Platheads  were,  intellectually  and  morally,  an  exception 
to  all  the  Indian  tribes  west  of  the  Missouri  River.  Lewis 
and  Clarke  found  them  different  from  any  others  ;  the  fur- 
traders  and  the  missionaries  found  them  different;  and 
they  remain  at  this  day  an  honorable  example,  for  probity 
and  piety,  to  both  savage  and  civilized  peoples. 

To  account  for  this  superiority  is  indeed  difficult.  The 
only  clue  to  the  cause  is  in  the  following  statement  of 
Bonneville's.  "  It  would  appear,"  he  says,  "  that  they  had 
imbibed  some  notions  of  the  Christian  faith  from  Catholic 
missionaries  and  traders  who  had  been  among  them.  They 
even  had  a  rude  calender  of  the  fasts  and  festivals  of  the 
Romish  Church,  and  some  traces  of  its  ceremonials.    These 


184  the  Indian's  idea  of  a  god. 

have  become  blended  with  their  own  wild  rites,  and  pre- 
sent a  strange  medley,  civilized  and  barbarous." 

Finding  that  these  people  among  whom  he  was  thrown 
exhibited  such  remarkable  traits  of  character,  Captain 
Bonneville  exerted  himself  to  make  them  acquainted  with 
the  history  and  spirit  of  Christianity.  To  these  explana- 
tions they  listened  with  great  eagerness.  "  Many  a  time," 
he  says,  "was  my  little  lodge  thronged,  or  rather  piled 
with  hearers,  for  they  lay  on  the  ground,  one  leaning  over 
the  other,  until  there  was  no  further  room,  all  listening 
with  greedy  ears  to  the  wonders  which  the  Great  Spirit 
had  revealed  to  the  white  man.  No  other  subject  gave 
them  half  the  satisfaction,  or  commanded  half  the  atten- 
tion ;  and  but  few  scenes  of  my  life  remain  so  freshly  on 
my  memory,  or  are  so  pleasurably  recalled  to  my  contempla- 
tion, as  these  hours  of  intercourse  with  a  distant  and  be- 
nighted race  in  the  midst  of  the  desert." 

It  was  the  interest  awakened  by  these  discourses  of 
Captain  Bonneville,  and  possibly  by  Smith,  and  other 
traders  who  happened  to  fall  in  with  the  Nez  Perces  and 
Flatheads,  that  stimulated  those  four  Flatheads  to  under- 
take the  journey  to  St.  Louis  in  search  of  information ; 
and  this  it  was  which  resulted  in  the  establishment  of 
missions,  both  in  western  Oregon,  and  among  the  tribes 
inhabiting  the  country  between  the  two  great  branches  of 
the  Columbia. 

The  trait  of  Indian  character  which  Bonneville,  in  his 
pleased  surprise  at  the  apparent  piety  of  the  Nez  Perces 
and  Flatheads,  failed  to  observe,  and  which  the  missiona- 
ries themselves  for  a  long  time  remained  oblivious  to,  was 
the  material  nature  of  their  religious  views.  The  Indian 
judges  of  all  things  by  the  material  results.  If  he  is  pos- 
sessed of  a  good  natural  intelligence  and  powers  of  obser- 
vation, he  soon  discovers  that  the  God  of  the  Indian  is 


the  Indian's  religion — material  good  desired.    185 

but  a  feeble  deity ;  for  does  he  not  permit  the  Indian  to 
be  defeated  in  war  ;  to  starve,  and  to  freeze  ?  Do  not  the 
Indian  medicine  men  often  fail  to  save  life,  to  win  battles, 
to  curse  their  enemies?  The  Indian's  God,  he  argues, 
must  be  a  good  deal  of  a  humbug.  He  sees  the  white 
men  faring  much  better.  They  have  guns,  ammunition, 
blankets,  knives,  everything  in  plenty ;  and  they  are  suc- 
cessful in  war ;  are  skillful  in  a  thousand  things  the  Indian 
knows  nothing  of.  To  be  so  blest  implies  a  very  wise  and 
powerful  Deity.  To  gain  all  these  things  they  are  eager 
to  learn  about  the  white  man's  God ;  are  willing  to  do 
whatever  is  necessary  to  please  and  propitiate  Him.  Hence 
their  attentiveness  to  the  white  man's  discourse  about  his 
religion.  Naturally  enough  they  were  struck  with  won- 
der at  the  doctrine  of  peace  and  good  will ;  a  doctrine  so 
different  from  the  law  of  blood  by  which  the  Indian,  in 
his  natural  state,  lives.  Yet  if  it  is  good  for  the  white 
men,  it  must  be  good  for  him ;  at  all  events  he  is  anxious 
to  try  it. 

That  is  the  course  of  reasoning  by  which  an  Indian  is 
led  to  inquire  into  Christianity.  It  is  a  desire  to  better 
his  physical,  rather  than  his  spiritual  condition ;  for  of  the 
latter  he  has  but  a  very  faint  conception.  He  was  accus- 
tomed to  desire  a  material  Heaven,  such  a  world  beyond 
the  grave,  as  he  could  only  imagine  from  his  earthly  ex- 
perience. Heaven  was  happiness,  and  happiness  was 
plenty;  therefore  the  most  a  good  Indian  could  desire 
was  to  go  where  there  should  forevermore  be  plenty. 

Such  was  the  Indian's  view  of  religion,  and  it  could  be 
no  other.  Until  the  wants  of  the  body  have  been  sup- 
plied by  civilization,  the  wants  of  the  soul  do  not  develop 
themselves:  and  until  then  the  savage  is  not  prepared 
to  understand  Christianity.  This  is  the  law  of  Nature  and 
of  God.     Primeval  man  was  a  savage ;  and  it  was  little 


186        THE    FIRST    SERMON   IN   THE   ROCKY   MOUNTAINS. 

by  little,  through  thousands  of  years,  that  Christ  was  re- 
vealed. Every  child  born,  even  now,  is  a  savage,  and  has 
to  be  taught  civilization  year  after  year,  until  he  arrives 
at  the  possibility  of  comprehending  spiritual  religion.  So 
every  full  grown  barbarian  is  a  child  in  moral  develop- 
ment ;  and  to  expect  him  to  comprehend  those  mysteries 
over  which  the  world  has  agonized  for  centuries,  is  to 
commit  the  gravest  error.  Into  this  error  fell  all  the  mis- 
sionaries who  came  to  the  wilds  that  lay  beyond  the  Rocky 
Mountains.  They  undertook  to  teach  religion  first,  and 
more  simple  matters  afterward — building  their  edifice  like 
the  Irishman's  chimney,  by  holding  up  the  top  brick,  and 
putting  the  others  under  it.  Failure  was  the  result  of 
such  a  process,  as  the  record  of  the  Oregon  Missions  suffi- 
ciently proves. 

The  reader  will  pardon  this  digression — made  necessary 
by  the  part  which  one  of  the  gentlemen  present  at  this 
year's  rendezvous,  was  destined  to  take  in  the  history 
which  we  are  writing.  Shortly  after  the  arrival  of  Messrs. 
Parker  and  Whitman,  rendezvous  broke  up.  A  party,  to 
which  Meek  was  attached,  moved  in  the  direction  of  the 
Snake  River  head- waters,  the  missionaries  accompanying 
them,  and  after  making  two  camps,  came  on  Saturday  eve 
to  Jackson's  Little  Hole,  a  small  mountain  valley  near  the 
larger  one  commonly  known  as  Jackson's  Hole. 

On  the  following  day  religious  services  were  held  in  the 
Rocky  Mountain  Camp.  A  scene  more  unusual  could 
hardly  have  transpired  than  that  of  a  company  of  trap- 
pers listening  to  the  preaching  of  the  Word  of  God. 
Very  little  pious  reverence  marked  the  countenances  of 
that  wild  and  motley  congregation.  Curiosity,  incredulity, 
sarcasm,  or  a  mocking  levity,  were  more  plainly  percepti- 
ble in  the  expression  of  the  men's  faces,  than  either  devo- 
tion or  the  longing  expectancy  of  men  habitually  deprived 


THE    REV.  DR.  WHITMAN.  187 

of  what  they  once  highly  valued.  The  Indians  alone 
showed  by  their  eager  listening  that  they  desired  to  be- 
come acquainted  with  the  mystery  of  the  "Unknown 
God." 

The  Rev.  Samuel  Parker  preached,  and  the  men  were 
as  politely  attentive  as  it  was  in  their  reckless  natures  to 
be,  until,  in  the  midst  of  the  discourse,  a  band  of  buffalo 
appeared  in  the  valley,  when  the  congregation  incon- 
tinently broke  up,  without  staying  for  a  benediction,  and 
every  man  made  haste  after  his  horse,  gun,  and  rope, 
leaving  Mr.  Parker  to  discourse  to  vacant  ground. 

The  run  was  both  exciting  and  successful.  About 
twenty  fine  buffaloes  were  killed,  and  the  choice  pieces 
brought  to  camp,  cooked  and  eaten,  amidst  the  merriment, 
mixed  with  something  coarser,  of  the  hunters.  On  this 
noisy  rejoicing  Mr.  Parker  looked  with  a  sober  aspect: 
and  following  the  dictates  of  his  religious  feeling,  he  re- 
buked the  sabbath-breakers  quite  severely.  Better  for  his 
influence  among  the  men,  if  he  had  not  done  so,  or  had 
not  eaten  so  heartily  of  the  tender-loin  afterwards,  a  cir- 
cumstance which  his  irreverent  critics  did  not  fail  to  re- 
mark, to  his  prejudice ;  and  upon  the  principle  that  the 
"partaker  is  as  bad  as  the  thief,"  they  set  down  his  lecture 
on  sabbath-breaking  as  nothing  better  than  pious  humbug. 

Dr.  Marcus  Whitman  was  another  style  of  man.  What- 
ever he  thought  of  the  wild  ways  of  the  mountain-men 
he  discreetly  kept  to  himself,  preferring  to  teach  by  ex- 
ample rather  than  precept;  and  showing  no  fastidious 
contempt  for  any  sort  of  rough  duty  he  might  be  called 
upon  to  perform.  So  aptly  indeed  had  he  turned  his  hand 
to  all  manner  of  camp  service  on  the  journey  to  the  moun- 
tains, that  this  abrogation  of  clerical  dignity  had  become 
a  source  of  solicitude,  not  to  say  disapproval  and  displeas- 
ure on  the  part  of  his  colleague ;  and  it  was  agreed  be- 


188 


THE    MISSIONARIES    RETURN    TO    THE    STATES. 


tween  them  that  the  Doctor  should  return  to  the  states 
with  the  St.  Louis  Company,  to  procure  recruits  for  the 
promising  field  of  labor  which  they  saw  before  them, 
while  Mr.  Parker  continued  his  journey  to  the  Columbia 
to  decide  upon  the  location  of  the  missionary  stations. 
The  difference  of  character  of  the  two  men  was  clearly 
illustrated  by  the  results  of  this  understanding.  Parker 
went  to  Vancouver,  where  he  was  hospitably  entertained, 
and  where  he  could  inquire  into  the  workings  of  the  mis- 
sionary system  as  pursued  by  the  Methodist  missionaries. 
His  investigations  not  proving  the  labor  to  his  taste,  he 
sailed  the  following  summer  for  the  Sandwich  Islands,  and 
thence  to  New  York ;  leaving  only  a  brief  note  for  Doctor 
Whitman,  when  he,  with  indefatigable  exertions,  arrived 
that  season  among  the  Nez  Perces  with  a  missionary  com- 
pany, eager  for  the  work  which  they  hoped  to  make  as 
great  as  they  believed  it  to  be  good. 


VIEW  ON  THE    COLUMBIA   RIVER. 


CHAPTER    XIV. 

From  the  mountains  about  the  head-waters  of  the 
Snake  River,  Meek  returned,  with  Bridger's  brigade  to 
the  Yellowstone  country,  where  he  fell  into  the  hands  of 
the  Crows.     The  story  as  he  relates  it,  is  as  follows : 

"I  war  trapping  on  the  Rocky  Fork  of  the  Yellowstone. 
I  had  been  out  from  camp  five  days ;  and  war  solitary  and 
alone,  when  I  war  discovered  by  a  war  party  of  Crows. 
They  had  the  prairie,  and  I  war  forced  to  run  for  the 
Creek  bottom ;  but  the  beaver  had  throwed  the  water  out 
and  made  dams,  so  that  my  mule  mired  down.  While  I 
war  struggling  in  the  marsh,  the  Indians  came  after  me, 
with  tremendous  yells;  firing  a  random  shot  now  and 
then,  as  they  closed  in  on  me. 

"When  they  war  within  about  two  rods  of  me,  I  brought 
old  Sally,  that  is  my  gun,  to  my  face,  ready  to  fire,  and 
then  die ;  for  I  knew  it  war  death  this  time,  unless  Provi- 
dence interfered  to  save  me :  and  I  didn't  think  Provi- 
dence would  do  it.  But  the  head  chief,  when  he  saw  the 
warlike  looks  of  Sally,  called  out  to  me  to  put  down  my 
gun,  and  I  should  live. 

"Well,  I  liked  to  live, — being  then  in  the  prime  of  life; 
and  though  it  hurt  me  powerful,  I  resolved  to  part  with 
Sally.  I  laid  her  down.  As  I  did  so,  the  chief  picked  her 
up,  and  one  of  the  braves  sprang  at  me  with  a  spear,  and 
would  have  run  me  through,  but  the  chief  knocked  him 
down  with  the  butt  of  my  gun.  Then  they  led  me  forth 
to  the  high  plain  on  the  south  side  of  the  stream.     There 


190  QUESTIONED    BY   THE    CHIEF. 

they  called  a  halt,  and  I  was  given  in  charge  of  three  wo- 
men, while  the  warriors  formed  a  ring  to  smoke  and  con- 
sult. This  gave  me  an  opportunity  to  count  them:  they 
numbered  one  hundred  and  eighty-seven  men,  nine  boys, 
and  three  women. 

"After  a  smoke  of  three  long  hours,  the  chief,  who  war 
named  'The  Bold,'  called  me  in  the  ring,  and  said: 

'"I  have  known  the  whites  for  a  long  time,  and  I  know 
them  to  be  great  liars,  deserving  death ;  but  if  you  will 
tell  the  truth,  you  shall  live.' 

"Then  I  thought  to  myself,  they  will  fetch  the  truth 
out  of  me,  if  thar  is  any  in  me.  But  his  highness  con- 
tinued : 

" '  Tell  me  whar  are  the  whites  you  belong  to ;  and  what 
is  your  captain's  name.' 

"I  said  'Bridger  is  my  captain's  name;  or,  in  the  Crow 
tongue,  Casapy^  the  'Blanket  chief  At  this  answer  the 
chief  seemed  lost  in  thought.     At  last  he  asked  me — 

"  'How  many  men  has  he  ?' 

"I  thought  about  telling  the  truth  and  living;  but  I 
said  'forty,'  which  war  a  tremendous  lie;  for  thar  war 
two  hundred  and  forty.     At  this  answer  The  Bold  laughed : 

'"We  will  make  them  poor,' said  he;  'and  you  shall 
live,  but  they  shall  die.' 

"I  thought  to  myself,  'hardly ;'  but  I  said  nothing.  He 
then  asked  me  whar  I  war  to  meet  the  camp,  and  I  told 
him : — and  then  how  many  days  before  the  camp  would 
be  thar ;  which  I  answered  truly,  for  I  wanted  them  to 
find  the  camp. 

"It  war  now  late  in  the  afternoon,  and  thar  war  a  great 
bustle,  getting  ready  for  the  march  to  meet  Bridger.  Two 
big  Indians  mounted  my  mule,  but  the  women  made  me 
pack  moccasins.  The  spies  started  first,  and  after  awhile 
the  main  party.     Seventy  warriors  traveled  ahead  of  me : 


bridger's  camp  discovered.  191 

I  war  placed  with  the  women  and  boys ;  and  after  us  the 
balance  of  the  braves.  As  we  traveled  along,  the  women 
would  prod  me  with  sticks,  and  laugh,  and  say  '  Masta 
Sheela,'  (which  means  white  man,)  'Masta  sheela  very 
poor  now.'     The  fair  sex  war  very  much  amused. 

"We  traveled  that  way  till  midnight,  the  two  big  bucks 
riding  my  mule,  and  I  packing  moccasins.  Then  we 
camped ;  the  Indians  in  a  ring,  with  me  in  the  centre,  to 
keep  me  safe.  I  didn't  sleep  very  well  that  night.  I'd  a 
heap  rather  been  in  some  other  place. 

"The  next  morning  we  started  on  in  the  same  order  as 
before :  and  the  squaws  making  fun  of  me  all  day  ;  but  I 
kept  mighty  quiet.  When  we  stopped  to  cook  that  eve- 
ning, I  war  set  to  work,  and  war  head  cook,  and  head 
waiter  too.  The  third  and  the  fourth  day  it  war  the  same. 
I  felt  pretty  bad  when  we  struck  camp  on  the  last  day:  for 
I  knew  we  must  be  coming  near  to  Bridger,  and  that  if 
any  thing  should  go  wrong,  my  life  would  pay  the  forfeit. 

"On  the  afternoon  of  the  fourth  day,  the  spies,  who 
war  in  advance,  looking  out  from  a  high  hill,  made  a  sign 
to  the  main  party.  In  a  moment  all  sat  down.  Directly 
they  got  another  sign,  and  then  they  got  up  and  moved 
on.  I  war  as  well  up  in  Indian  signs  as  they  war ;  and  I 
knew  they  had  discovered  white  men.  What  war  worse, 
I  knew  they  would  soon  discover  that  I  had  been  lying  to 
them.  All  I  had  to  do  then  war  to  trust  to  luck.  Soon  we 
came  to  the  top  of  the  hill,  which  overlooked  the  Yellow- 
stone, from  which  I  could  see  the  plains  below  extending 
as  far  as  the  eye  could  reach,  and  about  three  miles  off, 
the  camp  of  my  friends.  My  heart  beat  double  quick 
about  that  time ;  and  I  once  in  a  while  put  my  hand  to 
my  head,  to  feel  if  my  scalp  war  thar. 

"  While  I  war  watching  our  camp,  I  discovered  that  the 
horse  guard  had  seen  us,  for  I  knew  the  sign  he  would 
13 


192  SIGNALING   THE    HORSE    GUARD. 

make  if  he  discovered  Indians.  I  thought  the  camp  a 
splendid  sight  that  evening.  It  made  a  powerful  show  to 
me,  who  did  not  expect  ever  to  see  it  after  that  day.  And 
it  war  a  fine  sight  any  how,  from  the  hill  whar  I  stood. 
About  two  hundred  and  fifty  men,  and  women  and  chil- 
dren in  great  numbers,  and  about  a  thousand  horses  and 
mules.  Then  the  beautiful  plain,  and  the  sinking  sun ; 
and  the  herds  of  buffalo  that  could  not  be  numbered; 
and-  the  cedar  hills,  covered  with  elk, — I  never  saw  so  fine 
a  sight  as  all  that  looked  to  me  then ! 

"When  I  turned  my  eyes  on  that  savage  Crow  band, 
and  saw  the  chief  standing  with  his  hand  on  his  mouth,  lost 
in  amazement ;  and  beheld  the  warriors'  tomahawks  and 
spears  glittering  in  the  sun,  my  heart  war  very  little. 
Directly  the  chief  turned  to  me  with  a  horrible  scowl. 
Said  he : 

'"I  promised  that  you  should  live  if  you  told  the  truth; 
but  you  have  told  me  a  great  lie.' 

"  Then  the  warriors  gathered  around,  with  their  toma- 
hawks in  their  hands ;  but  I  war  showing  off  very  brave, 
and  kept  my  eyes  fixed  on  the  horse-guard  who  war  ap- 
proaching the  hill  to  drive  in  the  horses.  This  drew  the 
attention  of  the  chief,  and  the  warriors  too.  Seeing  that 
the  guard  war  within  about  two  hundred  yards  of  us,  the 
chief  turned  to  me  and  ordered  me  to  tell  him  to  come 
up.  I  pretended  to  do  what  he  said;  but  instead  of  that 
I  howled  out  to  him  to  stay  off,  or  he  would  be  killed ; 
and  to  tell  Bridger  to  try  to  treat  with  them,  and  get  me 
away. 

"As  quick  as  he  could  he  ran  to  camp,  and  in  a  few 
minutes  Bridger  appeared,  on  his  large  white  horse.  He 
came  up  to  within  three  hundred  yards  of  us,  and  called 
out  to  me,  asking  who   the   Indians  war.     I  answered 


SUCCESSFUL   STRATEGY CAPTURE   OF   LITTLE-GUN.      193 

'Crows.'  He  then  told  me  to  say  to  the  chief  he  wished 
him  to  send  one  of  his  sub-chiefs  to  smoke  with  him. 

"All  this  time  my  heart  beat  terribly  hard.  I  don't 
know  now  why  they  didn't  kill  me  at  once ;  but  the  head 
chief  seemed  overcome  with  surprise.  When  I  repeated 
to  him  what  Bridger  said,  he  reflected  a  moment,  and  then 
ordered  the  second  chief,  called  Little-Gun,  to  go  and 
smoke  with  Bridger.  But  they  kept  on  preparing  for 
war ;  getting  on  their  paint  and  feathers,  arranging  their 
scalp  locks,  selecting  their  arrows,  and  getting  their  am- 
munition ready. 

"  While  this  war  going  on,  Little-Gun  had  approached 
to  within  about  a  hundred  yards  of  Bridger ;  when,  ac- 
cording to  the  Crow  laws  of  war,  each  war  forced  to  strip 
himself,  and  proceed  the  remaining  distance  in  a  state  of 
nudity,  and  kiss  and  embrace.  While  this  interesting  cere- 
mony war  being  performed,  five  of  Bridger's  men  had 
followed  him,  keeping  in  a  ravine  until  they  got  within 
shooting  distance,  when  they  showed  themselves,  and  cut 
off  the  return  of  Little-Gun,  thus  making  a  prisoner  of 
him. 

"  If  you  think  my  heart  did  not  jump  up  when  I  saw 
that,  you  think  wrong.  I  knew  it  war  kill  or  cure,  now. 
Every  Indian  snatched  a  weapon,  and  fierce  threats  war 
howled  against  me.  But  all  at  once  about  a  hundred  of 
our  trappers  appeared  on  the  scene.  At  the  same  time 
Bridger  called  to  me,  to  tell  me  to  propose  to  the  chief  to 
exchange  me  for  Little-Gun.  I  explained  to  The  Bold 
what  Bridger  wanted  to  do,  and  he  sullenly  consented : 
for,  he  said,  he  could  not  afford  to  give  a  chief  for  one 
white  dog's  scalp.  I  war  then  allowed  to  go  towards  my 
camp,  and  Little-Gun  towards  his;  and  the  rescue  I  hardly 
hoped  for  war  accomplished. 

"In  the  evening  the  chief,  with  forty  of  his  braves,  vis- 


194  BESEIGED    BY   BEARS A  LAZY    TRAPPER. 

ited  Bridger  and  made  a  treaty  of  three  months.  They 
said  they  war  formerly  at  war  with  the  whites ;  but  that 
they  desired  to  be  friendly  with  them  now,  so  that  to- 
gether they  might  fight  the  Blackfeet,  who  war  every- 
body's enemies.  As  for  me,  they  returned  me  my  mule, 
gun,  and  beaver  packs,  and  said  my  najne  should  be 
jShiam  Sliaspusia,  for  I  could  out-lie  the  Crows." 

In  December,  Bridger's  command  went  into  winter 
quarters  in  the  bend  of  the  Yellowstone.  Buffalo,  elk? 
and  bear  were  in  great  abundance,  all  that  fall  and  winter. 
Before  they  went  to  camp,  Meek,  Kit  Carson,  Hawkins, 
and  Doughty  were  trapping  together  on  the  Yellowstone, 
about  sixty  miles  below.  They  had  made  their  temporary 
camp  in  the  ruins  of  an  old  fort,  the  walls  of  which  were 
about  six  feet  high.  One  evening,  after  coming  in  from 
setting  their  traps,  they  discovered  three  large  grizzly 
bears  in  the  river  bottom,  not  more  than  half  a  mile  off, 
and  Hawkins  went  out  to  shoot  one.  He  was  successful 
in  killing  one  at  the  first  shot,  when  the  other  two,  taking 
fright,  ran  towards  the  fort.  As  they  came  near  enough 
to  show  that  they  were  likely  to  invade  camp,  Meek  and 
Carson,  not  caring  to  have  a  bear  fight,  clambered  up  a 
cotton-wood  tree  close  by,  at  the  same  time  advising 
Doughty  to  do  the  same.  But  Doughty  was  tired,  and 
lazy  besides,  and  concluded  to  take  his  chances  where  he 
was ;  so  he  rolled  himself  in  his  blanket  and  laid  quite 
still.  The  bears,  on  making  the  fort,  reared  up  on  their 
hind  legs  and  looked  in  as  if  meditating  taking  it  for  a 
defence. 

The  sight  of  Doughty  lying  rolled  in  his  blanket,  and 
the  monster  grizzlys  inspecting  the  fort,  caused  the  two 
trappers  who  were  safely  perched  in  the  cotton-wood  to 
make  merry  at  Doughty's  expense ;  saying  all  the  mirth- 
provoking  things  they  could,  and  then  advising  him  not 


THE  DECOY  OF  THE  DELAWARES.  195 

to  laugh,  for  fear  the  bsars  should  seize  him.  Poor 
Doughty,  agonizing  between  suppressed  laughter  and 
growing  fear,  contrived  to  lie  still  however,  while  the 
bears  gazed  upward  at  the  speakers  in  wonder,  and  alter- 
nately at  the  suspicious  looking  bundle  inside  the  fort. 
Not  being  able  to  make  out  the  meaning  of  either,  they 
gave  at  last  a  grunt  of  dissatisfaction,  and  ran  off  into  a 
thicket  to  consult  over  these  strange  appearances ;  leaving 
the  trappers  to  enjoy  the  incident  as  a  very  good  joke. 
For  a  long  time  after,  Doughty  was  reminded  how  close 
to  the  ground  he  laid,  when  the  grizzlys  paid  their  com- 
pliments to  him.  Such  were  the  every-day  incidents  from 
which  the  mountain-men  contrived  to  derive  their  rude 
jests,  and  laughter-provoking  reminiscences. 

A  few  days  after  this  incident,  while  the  same  party 
were  trapping  a  few  miles  farther  down  the  river,  on  their 
way  to  camp,  they  fell  in  with  some  Delaware  Indians, 
who  said  they  had  discovered  signs  of  Blackfeet,  and 
wanted  to  borrow  some  horses  to  decoy  them.  To  this 
the  trappers  very  willingly  agreed,  and  they  were  fur- 
nished with  two  horses.  The  Delawares  then  went  to  the 
spot  where  signs  had  been  discovered,  and  tying  the 
horses,  laid  flat  down  on  the  ground  near  them,  concealed 
by  the  grass  or  willows.  They  had  not  long  to  wait  be- 
fore a  Blackfoot  was  seen  stealthily  advancing  through  the 
thicket,  confident  in  the  belief  that  he  should  gain  a  cou- 
ple of  horses  while  their  supposed  owners  were  busy  with 
their  traps. 

But  just  as  he  laid  his  hand  on  the  bridle  of  the  first 
one,  crack  went  the  rifles  of  the  Delawares,  and  there  was 
one  less  Blackfoot  thief  on  the  scent  after  trappers.  As 
soon  as  they  could,  after  this,  the  party  mounted  and  rode 
to  camp,  not  stopping  by  the  way,  lest  the  main  body  of 
Blackfeet  should  discover  the  deed  and  seek  for  vengeance. 


196  THE   ISHMAELITE    OF    THE    WILDERNESS. 

Truly  indeed,  was  the  Blackfoot  the  Ishmael  of  the  wil- 
derness, whose  hand  was  against  every  man,  and  every 
man's  hand  against  him. 

The  Rocky  Mountain  Company  passed  the  first  part  of 
the  winter  in  peace  and  plenty  in  the  Yellowstone  camp, 
unannoyed  either  by  enemies  or  rivals.  Hunting  buffalo, 
feeding  their  horses,  playing  games,  and  telling  stories,  oc- 
cupied the  entire  leisure  of  these  months  of  repose.  Not 
only  did  the  mountain-men  recount  their  own  adventures, 
but  when  these  were  exhausted,  those  whose  memories 
served  them  rehearsed  the  tales  they  had  read  in  their  ' 
youth.  Robinson  Crusoe  and  the  Arabian  Nights  Enter- 
tainment, were  read  over,  again  by  the  light  of  memory ; 
and  even  Bunyan's  Pilgrim's  Progress  was  made  to  recite 
like  a  sensation  novel,  and  was  quite  as  well  enjoyed. 

1836.  In  January,  however,  this  repose  was  broken  in 
upon  by  a  visit  from  the  Blackfeet.  As  their  visitations 
were  never  of  a  friendly  character,  so  then  they  were  not 
bent  upon  pacific  rites  and  ceremonies,  such  as  all  the  rest 
of  the  world  find  pleasure  in,  but  came  in  full  battle  array 
to  try  their  fortunes  in  war  against  the  big  camp  of  the 
whites.  They  had  evidently  made  great  preparation. 
Their  warriors  numbered  eleven  hundred,  got  up  in  the 
top  of  the  Blackfoot  fashions,  and  armed  with  all  manner 
of  savage  and  some  civilized  weapons.  But  Bridger  was 
prepared  for  them,  although  their  numbers  were  so  over- 
whelming. He  built  a  fort,  had  the  animals  corraled,  and 
put  himself  on  the  defensive  in  a  prompt  and  thorough  man- 
ner. This  made  the  Blackfeet  cautious ;  they  too  built 
forts  of  cotton-wood  in  the  shape  of  lodges,  ten  men  to 
each  fort,  and  carried  on  a  skirmishing  fight  for  two  days, 
when  finding  there  was  nothing  to  be  gained,  they  de- 
parted, neither  side  having  sustained  much  loss;  the 
whites  losing  only  two  men  by  this  grand  Blackfoot  army. 


MARCH  THROUGH  THE  CROW  COUNTRY.        197 

Soon  after  this  attack  Bridger  broke  camp,  and  traveled 
up  the  Yellowstone,  through  the  Crow  country.  It  was 
while  on  this  march  that  Umentucken  was  struck  by  a 
Crow,  and  Meek  put  the  whole  camp  in  peril,  by  shooting 
him.  They  passed  on  to  the  Big  Horn  and  Little  Horn 
rivers,  down  through  the  Wind  River  valley  and  through 
the  South  Pass  to  Green  River. 

While  in  that  country,  there  occurred  the  fight  with  the 
Bannacks  in  which  Umentucken  was  killed.  A  small  party 
of  Nez  Perces  had  lost  their  horses  by  the  thieving  of  the 
Bannacks.  They  came  into  camp  and  cqmplained  to  the 
whites,  who  promised  them  their  protection,  should  they 
be  able  to  recover  their  horses.  Accordingly  the  Nez  Per- 
ces started  after  the  thieves,  and  by  dogging  their  camp, 
succeeded  in  re-capturing  their  horses  and  getting  back 
to  Bridger's  camp  with  them.  In  order  to  divert  the 
vengeance  of  the  Bannacks  from  themselves,  they  pre- 
sented their  horses  to  the  whites,  and  a  very  fine  one  to 
Bridger. 

All  went  well  for  a  time.  The  Bannacks  went  on  their 
way  to  hunt  buffalo ;  but  they  treasured  up  their  wrath 
against  the  supposed  white  thieves  who  had  stolen  the 
horses  which  they  had  come  by  so  honestly.  On  their  re- 
turn from  the  hunt,  having  learned  by  spies  that  the  horses 
were  in  the  camp  of  the  whites,  they  prepared  for  war. 
Early  one  morning  they  made  their  appearance  mounted 
and  armed,  and  making  a  dash  at  the  camp,  rode  through 
it  with  the  usual  yells  and  frantic  gestures.  The  attack 
was  entirely  unexpected.  Bridger  stood  in  front  of  his 
lodge,  holding  his  horse  by  a  lasso,  and  the  head  chief 
rode  over  it,  jerking  it  out  of  his  hand.  At  this  unprece- 
dented insult  to  his  master,  a  negro  named  Jim,  cook  to 
the  Booshways,  seized  a  rifle  and  shot  the  chief  dead.  At 
the  same  time,  an  arrow  shot  at  random  struck  Umen- 


198  PUNISHMENT    OF    THE    BANNACKS. 

tucken  in  the  breast,  and  the  joys  and  sorrows  of  the 
Mountain  Lamb  were  over  forevermore. 

The  killing  of  a  head  chief  always  throws  an  Indian 
war  party  into  confusion,  and  negro  Jim  was  greatly  elated 
at  this  signal  feat  of  his.  The  trappers,  who  were  as 
much  surprised  at  the  suddenness  of  the  assault  as  it  is  in 
the  mountain-man's  nature  to  be,  quickly  recovered  them- 
selves. In  a  few  moments  the  men  were  mounted  and  in 
motion,  and  the  disordered  Bannacks  were  obliged  to  fly 
towards  their  village,  Bridger's  company  pursuing  them. 

All  the  rest  of  that  day  the  trappers  fought  the  Ban- 
nacks, driving  them  out  of  their  village  and  plundering 
it,  and  forcing  them  to  take  refuge  on  an  island  in  the 
river.  Even  there  they  were  not  safe,  the  guns  of  the 
mountain-men  picking  them  off,  from  their  stations  on  the 
river  banks.     Umentucken  was  well  avenged  that  day. 

All  night  the  Indians  remained  on  the  island,  where 
sounds  of  wailing  were  heard  continually ;  and  when 
morning  came  one  of  their  old  women  appeared  bearing  the 
pipe  of  peace.  "  You  have  killed  all  our  warriors,"  she 
said;  "do  you  now  want  to  kill  the  women?  If  you 
wish  to  smoke  with  women,  I  have  the  pipe." 

Not  caring  either  to  fight  or  to  smoke  with  so  feeble  a  rep- 
resentative of  the  Bannacks,  the  trappers  withdrew.  But 
it  was  the  last  war  party  that  nation  ever  sent  against  the 
mountain-men ;  though  in  later  times  they  have  by  their 
atrocities  avenged  the  losses  of  that  day. 

While  awaiting,  in  the  Green  River  valley,  the  arrival 
of  the  St.  Louis  Company,  the  Rocky  Mountain  and  North 
American  companies  united ;  after  which  Captain  Sublette 
and  his  brother  returned  no  more  to  the  mountains.  The 
new  firm  was  known  only  as  the  American  Fur  Company, 
the  other  having  dropped  its  title  altogether.  The  object 
of  their  consolidation  was  by  combining  their  capital  and 


AN    EXCURSION.  199 

experience  to  strengthen  their  hands  against  the  Hudson's 
Bay  Company,  which  now  had  an  establishment  at  Fort 
Hall,  on  the  Snake  River.  By  this  new  arrangement, 
Bridger  and  Fontenelle  commanded ;  and  Dripps  was  to 
be  the  traveling  partner  who  was  to  -go  to  St.  Louis  for 
goods. 

After  the  conclusion  of  this  agreement,  Dripps,  with  the 
restlessness  of  the  true  mountain-man,  decided  to  set  out, 
with  a  small  party  of  equally  restless  trappers,  always 
eager  to  volunteer  for  any  undertaking  promising  either 
danger  or  diversion,  to  look  for  the  St.  Louis  Company 
which  was  presumed  to  be  somewhere  between  the  Black 
Hills  and  Green  River.  According  to  this  determination 
Dripps,  Meek,  Carson,  Newell,  a  Flathead  chief  named 
Victor,  and  one  or  two  others,  set  out  on  the  search  for 
the  expected  company. 

It  happened,  however,  that  a  war  party  of  a  hundred 
Crows  were  out  on  the  trail  before  them,  looking  perhaps 
for  the  same  party,  and  the  trappers  had  not  made  more 
than  one  or  two  camps  before  they  discovered  signs  which 
satisfied  them  of  the  neighborhood  of  an  enemy.  At 
their  next  camp  on  the  Sandy,  Meek  and  Carson,  with  the 
caution  and  vigilance  peculiar  to  them,  kept  their  saddles 
on  their  horses,  and  the  horses  tied  to  themselves  by  a 
long  rope,  so  that  on  the  least  unusual  motion  of  the  ani- 
mals they  should  be  readily  informed  of  the  disturbance. 
Their  precaution  was  not  lost.  Just  after  midnight  had 
given  place  to  the  first  faint  kindling  of  dawn,  their  ears 
were  stunned  by  the  simultaneous  discharge  of  a  hundred 
guns,  and  the  usual  furious  din  of  the  war-whoop  and  yell. 
A  stampede  immediately  took  place  of  all  the  horses  ex- 
cepting those  of  Meek  and  Carson.  "  Every  man  for  himself 
and  God  for  us  all,"  is  the  motto  of  the  mountain-man  in 
case  of  an  Indian  attack  ;  nor  did  our  trappers  forget  it 


200    INTERCEPTED  BY  CROWS A   SCATTERED  CAMP. 

on  this  occasion.  Quickly  mounting,  they  put  their  horses 
to  their  speed,  which  was  not  checked  until  they  had  left 
the  Sandy  far  behind  them.  Continuing  on  in  the  direc- 
tion of  the  proposed  meeting  with  the  St.  Louis  Company, 
they  made  their  first  camp  on  the  Sweetwater,  where  they 
fell  in  with  Victor,  the  Flathead  chief,  who  had  made  his 
way  on  foot  to  this  place.  One  or  two  others  came  into 
camp  that  night,  and  the  following  day  this  portion 
of  the  party  traveled  on  in  company  until  within  about 
five  miles  of  Independence  Rock,  when  they  were  once 
more  charged  on  by  the  Indians,  who  surrounded  them  in 
such  a  manner  that  they  were  obliged  to  turn  back  to 
escape. 

Again  Meek  and  Carson  made  off,  leaving  their  dis- 
mounted comrades  to  their  own  best  devices.  Finding 
that  with  so  many  Indians  on  the  trail,  and  only  two  horses, 
there  was  little  hope  of  being  able  to  accomplish  their 
journey,  these  two  lucky  ones  made  all  haste  back  to  camp. 
On  Horse  Creek,  a  few  hours  travel  from  rendezvous,  they 
came  up  with  Newell,  who  after  losing  his  horse  had  fled 
in  the  direction  of  the  main  camp,  but  becoming  bewil- 
dered had  been  roaming  about  until  he  was  quite  tired 
out,  and  on  the  point  of  giving  up.  But  as  if  the  Creek 
where  he  was  found  meant  to  justify  itself  for  having  so 
inharmonious  a  name,  one  of  their  own  horses,  which  had 
escaped  from  the  Crows  was  found  quietly  grazing  on  its 
banks,  and  the  worn  out  fugitive  at  once  remounted. 
Strange  as  it  may  appear,  not  one  of  the  party  was  killed, 
the  others  returning  to  camp  two  days  later  than  Meek 
and  Carson,  the  worse  for  their  expedition  only  by  the  loss 
of  their  horses,  and  rather  an  unusually  fatigued  and  for- 
lorn aspect. 


CHAPTER    XV. 

1836.  While  the  resident  partners  of  the  consolidated 
company  waited  at  the  rendezvous  for  the  arrival  of  the 
supply  trains  from  St.  Louis,  word  came  by  a  messenger 
sent  forward,  that  the  American  Company  under  Fitzpat- 
rick,  had  reached  Independence  Rock,  and  was  pressing 
forward.  The  messenger  also  brought  the  intelligence 
that  two  other  parties  were  traveling  in  company  with  the 
fur  company ;  that  of  Captain  Stuart,  who  had  been  to 
New  Orleans  to  winter,  and  that  of  Doctor  Whitman,  one 
of  the  missionaries  who  had  visited  the  mountains  the  year 
previous.  In  this  latter  party,  it  was  asserted,  there  were 
two  white  ladies. 

This  exhilarating  news  immediately  inspired  some  of  the 
trappers,  foremost  among  whom  was  Meek,  with  a  desire 
to  be  the  first  to  meet  and  greet  the  on-coming  caravan ; 
and  especially  to  salute  the  two  white  women  who  were 
bold  enough  to  invade  a  mountain  camp.  In  a  very  short 
time  Meek,  with  half-a-dozen  comrades,  and  ten  or  a  dozen 
Nez  Perces,  were  mounted  and  away,  on  their  self-imposed 
errand  of  welcome  ;  the  trappers  because  they  were 
"spoiling"  for  a  fresh  excitement;  and  the  Nez  Perces 
because  the  missionaries  were  bringing  them  information 
concerning  the  powerful  and  beneficent  Deity  of  the  white 
men.  These  latter  also  Were  charged  with  a  letter  to 
Doctor  Whitman  from  his  former  associate,  Mr.  Parker. 

On  the  Sweetwater  about  two  days'  travel  from  camp 


202  THE  CARAVAN  WELCOMED  BY  A  PARTY  OF  TRAPPERS. 

the  caravan  of  the  advancing  company  was  discovered, 
and  the  trappers  prepared  to  give  them  a  characteristic 
greeting.  To  prevent  mistakes  in  recognizing  them,  a 
white  flag  was  hoisted  on  one  of  their  guns,  and  the  word 
was  given  to  start.  Then  over  the  brow  of  a  hill  they 
made  their  appearance,  riding  with  that  mad  speed  only 
an  Indian  or  a  trapper  can  ride,  yelling,  whooping,  dash- 
ing forward  with  frantic  and  threatening  gestures ;  their 
dress,  noises,  and  motions,  all  so  completely  savage  that 
the  white  men  could  not  have  been  distinguished  from 
the  red. 

The  first  effect  of  their  onset  was  what  they  probably 
intended.  The  uninitiated  travelers,  including  the  mis- 
sionaries, believing  they  were  about  to  be  attacked  by 
Indians,  prepared  for  defence,  nor  could  be  persuaded  that 
the  preparation  was  unnecessary  until  the  guide  pointed 
out  to  them  the  white  flag  in  advance.  At  the  assurance 
that  the  flag  betokened  friends,  apprehension  was  changed 
to  curiosity  and  intense  interest.  Every  movement  of  the 
wild  brigade  became  fascinating.  On  they  came,  riding 
faster  and  faster,  yelling  louder  and  louder,  and  gesticu- 
lating more  and  more  madly,  until,  as  they  met  and  passed 
the  caravan,  they  discharged  their  guns  in  one  volley  over 
the  heads  of  the  company,  as  a  last  finishing  feu  dejoie; 
and  suddenly  wheeling  rode  back  to  the  front  as  wildly 
as  they  had  come.  Nor  could  this  first  brief  display  con- 
tent the  crazy  cavalcade.  After  reaching  the  front,  they 
rode  back  and  forth,  and  around  and  around  the  caravan, 
which  had  returned  their  salute,  showing  oiF  their  feats  of 
horsemanship,  and  the  knowing  tricks  of  their  horses  to- 
gether ;  hardly  stopping  to  exchange  questions  and  an- 
swers, but  seeming  really  intoxicated  with  delight  at  the 
meeting.  What  strange  emotions  filled  the  breasts  of  the 
lady  missionaries,  when  they  beheld  among  whom  their 


CURIOSITY    OF    THE    INDIANS.  203 

lot  was  cast,  may  now  be  faintly  outlined  by  a  vivid 
imagination,  but  have  never  been,  perhaps  never  could  be 
put  into  words. 

The  caravan  on  leaving  the  settlements  had  consisted 
of  nineteen  laden  carts,  each  drawn  by  two  mules  driven 
tandem,  and  one  light  wagon,  belonging  to  the  American 
Company ;  two  wagons  with  two  mules  to  each,  belonging  to 
Capt.  Stuart;  and  one  light  two-horse  wagon,  and  one  four- 
horse  freight  wagon,  belonging  to  the  missionaries.  How- 
ever, all  the  wagons  had  been  left  behind  at  Fort  Laramie, 
except  those  of  the  missionaries,  and  one  of  Capt.  Stuart's; 
so  that  the  three  that  remained  in  the  train  when  it  reached 
the  Sweetwater  were  alone  in  the  enjoyment  of  the  Nez 
Perces'  curiosity  concerning  them ;  a  curiosity  which  they 
divided  between  them  and  the  domesticated  cows  and 
calves  belonging  to  the  missionaries:  another  proof,  as 
they  considered  it,  of  the  superior  power  of  the  white 
man's  God,  who  could  give  to  the  whites  the  ability  to  tame 
wild  animals  to  their  uses. 

But  it  was  towards  the  two  missionary  ladies,  Mrs.  Whit- 
man and  Mrs.  Spalding,  that  the  chief  interest  was  directed; 
an  interest  that  was  founded  in  the  Indian  mind  upon  won- 
der, admiration,  and  awe ;  and  in  the  minds  of  the  trappers 
upon  the  powerful  recollections  awakened  by  seeing  in 
their  midst  two  refined  Christian  women,  with  the  complex- 
ion and  dress  of  their  own  mothers  and  sisters.  United 
to  this  startling  effect  of  memory,  was  respect  for  the  re- 
ligious devotion  which  had  inspired  them  to  undertake  the 
long  and  dangerous  journey  to  the  Rocky  Mountains,  and 
also  a  sentiment  of  pity  for  what  they  knew  only  too  well 
yet  remained  to  be  encountered  by  those  delicate  women 
in  the  prosecution  of  their  duty. 

Mrs.  Whitman,  who  was  in  fine  health,  rode  the  greater 
part  of  the  journey  on  horseback.     She  was  a  large,  stately, 


204  THE    MISSIONARY    LADIES. 

fair-skinned  woman,  with  blue  eyes  and  light  auburn,  al- 
most golden  hair.  Her  manners  were  at  once  dignified 
and  gracious.  She  was,  both  by  nature  and  education  a 
lady ;  and  had  a  lady's  appreciation  of  all  that  was  cour- 
teous and  refined ;  yet  not  without  an  element  of  romance 
and  heroism  in  her  disposition  strong  enough  to  have 
impelled  her  to  undertake  a  missionary's  life  in  the  wil- 
derness. 

•  Mrs.  Spalding  was  a  different  type  of  woman.  Talented, 
and  refined  in  her  nature,  she  was  less  pleasing  in  exterior, 
and  less  attached  to  that  which  was  superficially  pleasing 
in  others.  But  an  indifference  to  outside  appearances  was 
in  her  case  only  a  sign  of  her  absorption  in  the  work  she 
had  taken  in  hand.  She  possessed  the  true  missionary 
spirit,  and  the  talent  to  make  it  useful  in  an  eminent  de- 
gree; never  thinking  of  herself,  or  the  impression  she 
made  upon  others;  yet  withal  very  firm  and  capable  of 
command.  Her  health,  which  was  always  rather  delicate, 
had  suffered  much  from  the  fatigue  of  the  journey,  and 
the  constant  diet  of  fresh  meat,  and  meat  only,  so  that  she 
was  compelled  at  last  to  abandon  horseback  exercise,  and 
to  keep  almost  entirely  to  the  light  wagon  of  the  mission- 
aries. 

As  might  be  expected,  the  trappers  turned  from  the  con- 
templation of  the  pale,  dark-haired  occupant  of  the  wagon, 
with  all  her  humility  and  gentleness,  to  observe  and 
admire  the  more  striking  figure,  and  more  affably  attractive 
manners  of  Mrs.  Whitman.  Meek,  who  never  lost  an 
opportunity  to  see  and  be  seen,  was  seen  riding  alongside 
Mrs.  Whitman,  answering  her  curious  inquiries,  and  enter- 
taining her  with  stories  of  Blackfeet  battles,  and  encoun- 
ters with  grizzly  bears.  Poor  lady !  could  she  have  looked 
into  the  future  about  which  she  was  then  so  curious,  she 
would  have  turned  back  appalled,  and  have  fled  with  fran- 


PREPARATIONS   IN    THE    INDIAN   VILLAGE.  205 

tic  fear  to  the  home  of  her  grieving  parents.  How  could 
she  then  behold  in  the  gay  and  boastful  mountaineer, 
whose  peculiarities  of  dress  and  speech  so  much  diverted 
her,  the  very  messenger  who  was  to  bear  to  the  home  of 
her  girlhood  the  sickening  tale  of  her  bloody  sacrifice  to 
savage  superstition  and  revenge  ?  Yet  so  had  fate  de- 
creed it. 

When  the  trappers  and  Nez  Perces  had  slaked  their  thirst 
for  excitement  by  a  few  hours'  travel  in  company  with  the 
Fur  Company's  and  Missionary's  caravan,  they  gave  at 
length  a  parting  display  of  horsemanship,  and  dashed  off 
on  the  return  trail  to  carry  to  camp  the  earliest  news.  It 
was  on  their  arrival  in  camp  that  the  Nez  Perce  and  Flat- 
head village,  which  had  its  encampment  at  the  rendezvous 
ground  on  Green  River,  began  to  make  preparations  for 
the  reception  of  the  missionaries.  It  was  then  that  Indian 
finery  was  in  requisition !  Then  the  Indian  women  combed 
and  braided  their  long  black  hair,  tying  the  plaits  with 
gay-colored  ribbons,  and  the  Indian  braves  tied  anew 
their  streaming  scalp -locks,  sticking  them  full  of  flaunting 
eagle's  plumes,  and  not  despising  a  bit  of  ribbon  either. 
Paint  was  in  demand  both  for  the  rider  and  his  horse.  Gay 
blankets,  red  and  blue,  buckskin  fringed  shirts,  worked 
with  beads  and  porcupine  quills,  and  handsomely  embroi- 
dered moccasins,  were  eagerly  sought  after.  Guns  were 
cleaned  and  burnished,  and  drums  and  fifes  put  in  tune. 

After  a  day  of  toilsome  preparation  all  was  ready  for 
the  grand  reception  in  the  camp  of  the  Nez  Perces.  Word 
was  at  length  given  that  the  caravan  was  in  sight.  There 
was  a  rush  for  horses,  and  in  a  few  moments  the  Indians 
were  mounted  and  in  line,  ready  to  charge  on  the  advanc- 
ing caravan.  When  the  command  of  the  chiefs  was  given 
to  start,  a  simultaneous  chorus  of  yells  and  whoops  burst 
forth,  accompanied  by  the  deafening  din  of  the  war-drum, 


206  ENTHUSIASTIC    EECEPTION. 

the  discharge  of  fire-arms,  and  the  clatter  of  the  whole 
cavalcade,  which  was  at  once  in  a  mad  gallop  toward  the 
on-coming  train.  Nor  did  the  yelling,  whooping,  drum- 
ming, and  firing  cease  until  within  a  few  yards  of  the 
train. 

All  this  demoniac  hub-bub  was  highly  complimentary 
toward  those  for  whom  it  was  intended ;  but  an  unfortu- 
nate ignorance  of  Indian  customs  caused  the  missionaries 
to  fail  in  appreciating  the  honor  intended  them.  Instead 
of  trying  to  reciprocate  the  noise  by  an  attempt  at  imitat- 
ing it,  the  missionary  camp  was  alarmed  at  the  first  burst 
and  at  once  began  to  drive  in  their  cattle  and  prepare  for 
an  attack.  As  the  missionary  party  was  in  the  rear  of  the 
train  they  succeeded  in  getting  together  their  loose  stock 
before  the  Nez  Perces  had  an  opportunity  of  making  them- 
selves known,  so  that  the  leaders  of  the  Fur  Company,  and 
Captain  Stuart,  had  the  pleasure  of  a  hearty  laugh  at  their 
expense,  for  the  fright  they  had  received. 

A  general  shaking  of  hands  followed  the  abatement  of 
the  first  surprise,  the  Indian  women  saluting  Mrs.  Whitman 
and  Mrs.  Spalding  with  a  kiss,  and  the  missionaries  were 
escorted  to  their  camping  ground  near  the  Nez  Perce  en- 
campment. Here  the  whole  village  again  formed  in  line, 
and  a  more  formal  introduction  of  the  missionaries  took 
place,  after  which  they  were  permitted  to  go  into  camp. 

When  the  intention  of  the  Indians  became  known,  Dr. 
Whitman,  who  was  the  leader  of  the  missionary  party,  was 
boyishly  delighted  with  the  reception  which  had  been 
given  him.  His  frank,  hearty,  hopeful  nature  augured 
much  good  from  the  enthusiasm  of  the  Indians.  If  his 
estimation  of  the  native  virtues  of  the  savages  was  much 
too  high,  he  suffered  with  those  whom  he  caused  to  suffer 
for  his  belief,  in  the  years  which  followed.  Peace  to  the 
ashes  of  a  good  man !     And  honor  to  his  associates,  whose 


MR.    AND    MRS.    SPALDING MR.    GRAY.  207 

hearts  were  in  the  cause  they  had  undertaken  of  Christian- 
izing the  Indians.  Two  of  them  still  live — one  of  whom, 
Mr.  Spalding,  has  conscientiously  labored  and  deeply  suf- 
fered for  the  faith.  Mr.  Gray,  who  was  an  unmarried  man, 
returned  the  following  year  to  the  States,  for  a  wife,  and 
settled  for  a  time  among  the  Indians,  but  finally  abandoned 
the  missionary  service,  and  removed  to  the  Wallamet  val- 
ley. These  five  persons  constituted  the  entire  force  of 
teachers  who  could  be  induced  at  that  time  to  devote 
their  lives  to  the  instruction  of  the  savages  in  the  neigh- 
borhood of  the  Rocky  Mountains. 

The  trappers,  and  gentlemen  of  the  Fur  Company,  and 
Captain  Stuart,  had  been  passive  but  interested  spectators 
of  the  scene  between  the  Indians  and  the  missionaries. 
When  the  excitement  had  somewhat  subsided,  and  the 
various  camps  had  become  settled  in  their  places,  the  tents 
of  the  white  ladies  were  beseiged  with  visitors,  both  civil- 
ized and  savage.  These  ladies,  who  were  making  an  en- 
deavor to  acquire  a  knowledge  of  the  Nez  Perce  tongue 
in  order  to  commence  their  instructions  in  the  language 
of  the  natives,  could  have  made  very  little  progress,  had 
their  purpose  been  less  strong  than  it  was.  Mrs.  Spalding 
perhaps  succeeded  better  than  Mrs.  Whitman  in  the  diffi- 
cult study  of  the  Indian  dialect.  She  seemed  to  attract 
the  natives  about  her  by  the  ease  and  kindness  of  her 
manner,  especially  the  native  women,  who,  seeing  she  was 
an  invalid,  clung  to  her  rather  than  to  her  more  lofty  and 
self-asserting  associate. 

On  the  contrary,  the  leaders  of  the  American  Fur  Com- 
pany, Captain  Wyeth  and  Captain  Stuart,  paid  Mrs.  Whit- 
man the  most  marked  and  courteous  attentions.  She  shone 
the  bright  particular  star  of  that  Rocky  Mountain  encamp- 
ment, softening  the  hearts  .and  the  manners  of  all  who 
came  within  her  womanly  influence.  Not  a  gentleman 
14 


208      WOMANLY  INFLUENCES  IN  THE    ROCKY   MOUNTAINS. 

among  them  but  felt  her  silent  command  upon  him  to  be 
his  better  self  while  she  remained  in  his  vicinity ;  not  a 
trapper  or  camp-keeper  but  respected  the  presence  of 
womanhood  and  piety.  But  while  the  leaders  paid  court 
to  her,  the  bashful  trappers  contented  themselves  with 
promenading  before  her  tent.  Should  they  succeed  in 
catching  her  eye,  they  never  failed  to  touch  their  beaver- 
skin  caps  in  their  most  studiously  graceful  manner,  though 
that  should  prove  so  dubious  as  to  bring  a  mischievous 
smile  to  the  blue  eyes  of  the  observant  lady. 

But  our  friend  Joe  Meek  did  not  belong  by  nature  to 
the  bashful  brigade.  He  was  not  content  with  disporting 
himself  in  his  best  trapper's  toggery  in  front  of  a  lady's 
tent.  He  became  a  not  infrequent  visitor,  and  amused 
Mrs.  Whitman  with  the  best  of  his  mountain  adventures, 
related  in  his  soft,  slow,  yet  smooth  and  firm  utterance, 
and  with  many  a  merry  twinkle  of  his  mirthful  dark  eyes. 
In  more  serious  moments  he  spoke  to  her  of  the  future, 
and  of  his  determination,  sometime,  to  "settle  down." 
When  she  inquired  if  he  had  fixed  upon  any  spot  which 
in  his  imagination  he  could  regard  as  "home"  he  replied 
that  he  could  not  content  himself  to  return  to  civilized  life, 
but  thought  that  when  he  gave  up  "  bar  fighting  and  In- 
jun fighting"  he  should  go  down  to  the  Wallamet  valley 
and  see  what  sort  of  life  he  could  make  of  it  there.  How 
he  lived  up  to  this  determination  will  be  seen  hereafter. 

The  missionaries  remained  at  the  rendezvous  long  enough 
to  recruit  their  own  strength  and  that  of  their  stock,  and 
to  restore  to  something  like  health  the  invalid  Mrs.  Spald- 
ing, who,  on  changing  her  diet  to  dried  meat,  which  the 
resident  partners  were  able  to  supply  her,  commenced  rap- 
idly to  improve.  Letters  were  written  and  given  to  Capt. 
Wyeth  to  carry  home  to  the  States.  The  Captain  had 
completed  his  sale  of  Fort  Hall  and  the  goods  it  contained 


THE   MISSIONARIES    RENEW    THEIR   JOURNEY.  209' 

to  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  only  a  short  time  previous, 
and  was  now  about  to  abandon  the  effort  to  establish  any 
enterprise  either  on  the  Columbia  or  in  the  Rocky  Moun- 
tains. He  had,  however,  executed  his  threat  of  the  year 
previous,  and  punished  the  bad  faith  of  the  Rocky  Moun- 
tain Company  by  placing  them  in  direct  competition  with 
the  Hudson's  Bay  Company. 

The  missionaries  now  prepared  for  their  journey  to  the 
Columbia  River.  According  to  the  advice  of  the  moun- 
tain-men the  heaviest  wagon  was  left  at  the  rendezvous, 
together  with  every  heavy  article  that  could  be  dispensed 
with.  But  Dr.  Whitman  refused  to  leave  the  light  wagon, 
although  assured,  he  would  never  be  able  to  get  it  to  the 
Columbia,  nor  even  to  the  Snake  River.  The  good  Doc- 
tor had  an  immense  fund  of  determination  when  there  was 
an  object  to  be  gained  or  a  principle  involved.  The  only 
persons  who  did  not  oppose  wagon  transportation  were 
the  Indians.  They  sympathised  with  his  determination, 
and  gave  him  their  assistance.  The  evidences  of  a  differ- 
ent and  higher  civilization  than  they  had  ever  seen  were 
held  in  great  reverence  by  them.  The  wagons,  the  do- 
mestic cattle,  especially  the  cows  and  calves,  were  always 
objects  of  great  interest  with  them.  Therefore  they  freely 
gave  their  assistance,  and  a  sufficient  number  remained 
behind  to  help  the  Doctor,  while  the  main  party  of  both 
missionaries  and  Indians,  having  bidden  the  Fur  Company 
and  others  farewell,  proceeded  to  join  the  camp  of  two 
Hudson's  Bay  traders  a  few  miles  on  their  way. 

The  two  traders,  whose  camp  they  now  joined,  were 
named  McLeod  and  McKay.  The  latter,  Thomas  McKay, 
was  the  half-breed  son  of  that  unfortunate  McKav  in  Mr. 
Astor's  service,  who  perished  on  board  the  Tonquin,  as  re- 
lated in  Irving's  Astoria.  He  was  one  of  the  bravest 
and  most  skillful  partisans  in  the  employ  of  the  Hudson's 


210     THE  CAMP  OF  THE  HUDSON'S  BAY  TRADERS. 

Bay  Company.  McLeod  had  met  the  missionaries  at  the 
American  rendezvous ,  and  invited  them  to  travel  in  his 
company ;  an  offer  which  they  were  glad  to  accept,  as  it 
secured  them  ample  protection  and  other  more  trifling 
benefits,  besides  some  society  other  than  the  Indians. 

By  dint  of  great  perseverance,  Doctor  Whitman  con- 
trived to  keep  up  with  the  camp  day  after  day,  though 
often  coming  in  very  late  and  very  weary,  until  the  party 
arrived  at  Fort  Hall.  At  the  fort  the  baggage  was  again 
reduced  as  much  as  possible ;  and  Doctor  Whitman  was 
compelled  by  the  desertion  of  his  teamster  to  take  off  two 
wheels  of  his  wagon  and  transform  it  into  a  cart  which 
could  be  more  easily  propelled  in  difficult  places.  With 
this  he  proceeded  as  far  as  the  Boise  River  where  the 
Hudson's  Bay  Company  had  a  small  fort  or  trading-post ; 
but  here  again  he  was  so  strongly  urged  to  relinquish  the 
idea  of  taking  his  wagon  to  the  Columbia,  that  after  much 
discussion  he  consented  to  leave  it  at  Fort  Boise  until 
some  future  time  when  unencumbered  by  goods  or  pas- 
sengers he  might  return  for  it. 

Arrived  at  the  crossing  of  the  Snake  River,  Mrs.  Whit- 
man and  Mrs.  Spalding  were  treated  to  a  new  mode  of  fer- 
riage, which  even  in  their  varied  experience  they  had 
never  before  met  with.  This  new  ferry  was  nothing  more 
or  less  than  a  raft  made  of  bundles  of  bulrushes  woven 
together  by  grass  ropes.  Upon  this  frail  flat-boat  the 
passengers  were  obliged  to  stretch  themselves  at  length 
while  an  Indian  swam  across  and  drew  it  after  him  by  a 
rope.  As  the  waters  of  the  Snake  River  are  rapid  and 
often  "  dancing  mad,"  it  is  easy  to  conjecture  that  the 
ladies  were  ill  at  ease  on  their  bulrush  ferry. 

On  went  the  party  from  the  Snake  River  through  the 
Grand  Ronde  to  the  Blue  Mountains.  The  crossing  here 
was  somewhat  difficult  but  accomplished  in  safety.     The 


THE   MISSIONARIES'    LAND    OF    PROMISE. 


211 


descent  from  the  Blue  Mountains  on  the  west  side  gave 
the  missionaries  their  first  view  of  the  country  they  had 
come  to  possess,  and  to  civilize  and  Christianize.  That 
view  was  beautiful  and  grand — as  goodly  a  prospect  as 
longing  eyes  ever  beheld  this  side  of  Canaan.  Before 
them  lay  a  country  spread  out  like  a  map,  with  the  wind- 
ings of  its  rivers  marked  by  fringes  of  trees,  and  its  bound- 
aries fixed  by  mountain  ranges  above  which  towered  the 
snowy  peaks  of 
Mt.  Hood,  Mt. 
Adams,  and  Mt. 
Rainier.  Far 
away  could  be 
traced  the 
course  of  the 
Columbia ;  and 
over  all  the  mag- 
nificent scene 
glowed  the  red 
rays  of  sunset, 
tinging  the  dis- 
tant blue  of  the 
mountains  until 
they  seemed 
shrouded  in  a 
veil  of  violet 
mist.  It  were 
not  strange  that 
with  the  recep- 
tion given  them  by  the  Indians,  and  with  this  bird's-eye 
view  of  their  adopted  country,  the  hearts  of  the  missiona- 
ries beat  high  with  hope. 

The  descent  from  the  Blue  Mountains  brought  the  party 
out  on  the  Umatilla  River,  where  they  camped,  Mr.  McLeod 


DESCENDING  THE  BLUE  MOUNTAIN'S. 


212        A   VISIT    TO    FORT    VANCOUVER KIND    RECEPTION. 

parting  company  with  them  at  this  place  to  hasten  for- 
ward to  Fort  Walla- Walla,  and  prepare  for  their  recep- 
tion. After  two  more  days  of  slow  and  toilsome  travel 
with  cattle  whose  feet  were  cut  and  sore  from  the  sharp 
rocks  of  the  mountains,  the  company  arrived  safely  at 
Walla- Walla  fort,  on  the  third  of  September.  Here 
they  found  Mr.  McLeod,  and  Mr.  Panbram  who  had  charge 
of  that  post. 

Mr.  Panbram  received  the  missionary  party  with  every 
token  of  respect,  and  of  pleasure  at  seeing  ladies  among 
them.  The  kindest  attentions  were  lavished  upon  them 
from  the  first  moment  of  their  arrival,  when  the  ladies 
were  lifted  from  their  horses,  to  the  time  of  their  depar- 
ture ;  the  apartments  belonging  to  the  fort  being  assigned 
to  them,  and  all  that  the  place  afforded  of  comfortable 
living  placed  at  their  disposal.  Here,  for  the  first  time  in 
several  months,  they  enjoyed  the  luxury  of  bread — a  favor 
for  which  the  suffering  Mrs.  Spalding  was  especially  grate- 
ful. 

At  Walla- Walla  the  missionaries  were  informed  that 
they  were  expected  to  visit  Vancouver,  the  head-quarters 
of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  on  the  Lower  Columbia. 
After  resting  for  two  days,  it  was  determined  to  make  this 
visit  before  selecting  places  for  mission  work  among  the 
Indians.  Accordingly  the  party  embarked  in  the  compa- 
ny's boats,  for  the  voyage  down  the  Columbia,  which 
occupied  six  days,  owing  to  strong  head  winds  which  were 
encountered  at  a  point  on  the  Lower  Columbia,  called 
Cape  Horn.  They  arrived  safely  on  the  eleventh  of  Sep- 
tember, at  Vancouver,  where  they  were  again  received 
with  the  warmest  hospitality  by  the  Governor,  Dr.  John 
McLaughlin,  and  his  associates.  The  change  from  the 
privations  of  wilderness  life  to  the  luxuries  of  Fort  Van- 
couver was  very  great  indeed,  and  two  weeks  passed  rap- 


SELECTION    OF   MISSIONARY    STATIONS.  213 

idly  away  in  the  enjoyment  of  refined  society,  and  all 
the  other  elegancies  of  the  highest  civilization. 

At  the  end  of  two  weeks,  Dr.  Whitman,  Mr.  Spalding, 
and  Mr.  Gray  returned  to  the  Upper  Columbia,  leaving 
the  ladies  at  Fort  Vancouver  while  they  determined  upon 
their  several  locations  in  the  Indian  country.  After  an 
absence  of  several  weeks  they  returned,  having  made  their 
selections,  and  on  the  third  day  of  November  the  ladies 
once  more  embarked  to  ascend  the  Columbia,  to  take  up 
their  residence  in  Indian  wigwams  while  their  husbands 
prepared  rude  dwellings  by  the  assistance  of  the  natives. 
The  spot  fixed  upon  by  Dr.  Whitman  for  his  mission  was 
on  the  Walla- Walla  River  about  thirty  miles  from  the  fort 
of  that  name.  It  was  called  Waiilatpu;  and  the  tribe 
chosen  for  his  pupils  were  the  Cayuses,  a  hardy,  active, 
intelligent  race,  rich  in  horses  and  pasture  lands. 

Mr.  Spalding  selected  a  home  on  the  Clearwater  River, 
among  the  Nez  Perces,  of  whom  we  already  know  so 
much.  His  mission  was  called  Lapwai.  Mr.  Gray  went 
among  the  Flatheads,  an  equally  friendly  tribe ;  and  here 
we  shall  leave  the  missionaries,  to  return  to  the  Rocky 
Mountains  and  the  life  of  the  hunter  and  trapper.  At  a 
future  date  we  shall  fall  in  once  more  with  these  devoted 
people  and  learn  what  success  attended  their  efforts  to 
Christianize  the  Indians. 


CHAPTER    XVI. 

1836.  The  company  of  men  who  went  north  this  year 
under  Bridger  and  Fontenelle,  numbered  nearly  three 
hundred.  Rendezvous  with  all  its  varied  excitements 
being  over,  this  important  brigade  commenced  its  march. 
According  to  custom,  the  trappers  commenced  business 
on  the  head- waters  of  various  rivers,  following  them  down 
as  the  early  frosts  of  the  mountains  forced  them  to  do, 
until  finally  they  wintered  in  the  plains,  at  the  most 
favored  spots  they  could  find  in  which  to  subsist  them- 
selves and  animals. 

From  Green  River,  Meek  proceeded  with  Bridger's  com- 
mand to  Lewis  River,  Salt  River,  and  other  tributaries  of 
the  Snake,  and  camped  with  them  in  Pierre's  Hole,  that 
favorite  mountain  valley  which  every  year  was  visited  by 
the  different  fur  companies. 

Pierre's  Hole,  notwithstanding  its  beauties,  had  some  re- 
pulsive features,  or  rather  perhaps  one  repulsive  feature, 
which  was,  its  great  numbers  of  rattlesnakes.  Meek  relates 
that  being  once  caught  in  a  very  violent  thunder  storm, 
he  dismounted,  and  holding  his  horse,  a  fine  one,  by  the 
bridle,  himself  took  shelter  under  a  narrow  shelf  of  rock 
projecting  from  a  precipitous  bluff.  Directly  he  observed 
an  enormous  rattlesnake  hastening  close  by  him  to  its  den 
in  the  mountain.  Congratulating  himself  on  his  snake- 
ship's  haste  to  get  out  of  the  storm  and  his  vicinity,  he 
had  only  time  to  have  one  rejoicing  thought  when  two  or 


THE   OLD   FRENCHMAN.  215 

three  others  followed  the  trail  of  the  first  one.  They  were 
seeking  the  same  rocky  den,  of  whose  proximity  Meek 
now  felt  uncomfortably  assured.  Before  these  were  out 
of  sight,  there  came  instead  of  twos  and  threes,  tens  and 
twenties,  and  then  hundreds,  and  finally  Meek  believes 
thousands,  the  ground  being  literally  alive  with  them. 
Not  daring  to  stir  after  he  discovered  the  nature  of  his 
situation,  he  was  obliged  to  remain  and  endure  the  dis- 
gusting and  frightful  scene,  while  he  exerted  himself  to 
keep  his  horse  quiet,  lest  the  reptiles  should  attack  him. 
By  and  by,  when  there  were  no  more  to  come,  but  all 
were  safe  in  their  holes  in  the  rock,  Meek  hastily  mounted 
and  galloped  in  the  face  of  the  tempest  in  preference  to 
remaining  longer  in  so  unpleasant  a  neighborhood. 

There  was  an  old  Frenchman  among  the  trappers  who 
used  to  charm  rattlesnakes,  and  handling  them  freely, 
place  them  in  his  bosom,  or  allow  them  to  wind  about  his 
arms,  several  at  a  time,  their  flat  heads  extending  in  all 
directions,  and  their  bodies  waving  in  the  air,  in  the  most 
snaky  and  nerve-shaking  manner,  to  the  infinite  disgust 
of  all  the  camp,  and  of  Hawkins  and  Meek  in  particular. 
Hawkins  often  became  so  nervous  that  he  threatened  to 
shoot  the  Frenchman  on  the  instant,  if  he  did  not  desist ; 
and  great  was  the  dislike  he  entertained  for  what  he  term- 
ed the  "    infernal  old  wizard." 

It  was  often  the  case  in  the  mountains  and  on  the  plains 
that  the  camp  was  troubled  with  rattlesnakes,  so  that 
each  man  on  laying  down  to  sleep  found  it  necessary  to 
encircle  his  bed  with  a  hair  rope,  thus  effectually  fencing 
out  the  reptiles,  which  are  too  fastidious  and  sensitive  of 
touch  to  crawl  over  a  hair  rope.  But  for  this  precaution, 
the  trapper  must  often  have  shared  his  blanket  couch 
with  this  foe  to  the  "  seed  of  the  woman,"  who  being 
asleep  would  have  neglected  to  "  crush  his  head,"  receiv- 


216  THE   PRAIRIE    DOG   AND   HIS   TENANTS. 

ing  instead  the  serpent's  fang  in  "his  heel,"  if  not  in  some 
nobler  portion  of  his  body. 

There  is  a  common  belief  abroad  that  the  prairie  dog 
harbors  the  rattlesnake,  and  the  owl  also,  in  his  subterra- 
nean house,  in  a  more  or  less  friendly  manner.  Meek, 
however,  who  has  had  many  opportunities  of  observing 
the  habits  of  these  three  ill-assorted  denizens  of  a  common 
abode,  gives  it  as  his  opinion  that  the  prairie  dog  consents 
to  the  invasion  of  his  premises  alone  through  his  inability 
to  prevent  it.  As  these  prairie  dog  villages  are  always 
found  on  the  naked  prairies,  where  there  is  neither  rocky 
den  for  the  rattlesnake,  nor  shade  for  the  blinking  eyes  of 
the  owl,  these  two  idle  and  impudent  foreigners,  availing 
themselves  of  the  labors  of  the  industrious  little  animal 
which  builds  itself  a  cool  shelter  from  the  sun,  and  a  safe 
one  from  the  storm,  whenever  their  own  necessities  drive 
them  to  seek  refuge  from  either  sun  or  storm,  enter  unin- 
vited and  take  possession.  It  is  probable  also,  that  so  far 
from  being  a  welcome  guest,  the  rattlesnake  occasionally 
gorges  himself  with  a  young  prairie-dog,  when  other  game 
is  not  conveniently  nigh,  or  that  the  owl  lies  in  wait  at  the 
door  of  its  borrowed-without-leave  domicile,  and  succeeds 
in  nabbing  a  careless  field-mouse  more  easily  than  it  could 
catch  the  same  game  by  seeking  it  as  an  honest  owl  should 
do.  The  owl  and  the  rattlesnake  are  like  the  Sioux  when 
they  go  on  a  visit  to  the  Omahas — the  visit  being  always 
timed  so  as  to  be  identical  in  date  with  that  of  the  Gov- 
ernment Agents  who  are  distributing  food  and  clothing. 
They  are  very  good  friends  for  the  nonce,  the  poor  Oma^ 
has  not  daring  to  be  otherwise  for  fear  of  the  ready  ven- 
geance on  the  next  summer's  buffalo  hunt ;  therefore  they 
conceal  their  grimaces  and  let  the  Sioux  eat  them  up ;  and 
when  summer  comes  get  massacred  on  their  buffalo  hunt, 
all  the  same. 


THE  BLACKFEET  ATTACKED  IN  THEIR  CAMP.     217 

But  to  return  to  our  brigade.  About  the  last  of  October 
Bridgers  company  moved  down  on  to  the  Yellowstone  by 
a  circuitous  route  through  the  North  Pass,  now  known  as 
Hell  Gate  Pass,  to  Judith  River,  Mussel  Shell  River,  Cross 
Creeks  of  the  Yellowstone,  Three  Forks  of  Missouri,  Mis- 
souri Lake,  Beaver  Head  country,  Big  Horn  River,  and 
thence  east  again,  and  north  again  to  the  wintering  ground 
in  the  great  bend  of  the  Yellowstone. 

The  company  had  not  proceeded  far  in  the  Blackfeet 
country,  between  Hell  Gate  Pass  and  the  Yellowstone, 
before  they  were  attacked  by  the  Blackfeet.  On  arriving 
at  the  Yellowstone  they  discovered  a  considerable  encamp- 
ment of  the  enemy  on  an  island  or  bar  in  the  river,  and 
proceeded  to  open  hostilities  before  the  Indians  should 
have  discovered  them.  Making  little  forts  of  sticks  or 
bushes,  each  man  advanced  cautiously  to  the  bank  over- 
looking the  island,  pushing  his  leafy  fort  before  him  as  he 
crept  silently  nearer,  until  a  position  was  reached  whence 
firing  could  commence  with  effect.  The  first  intimation 
the  luckless  savages  had  of  the  neighborhood  of  the  whites 
was  a  volley  of  shots  discharged  into  their  camp,  killing 
several  of  their  number.  But  as  this  was  their  own  mode 
of  attack,  no  reflections  were  likely  to  be  wasted  upon  the 
unfairness  of  the  assault ;  quickly  springing  to  their  arms 
the  firing  was  returned,  and  for  several  hours  was  kept  up 
on  both  sides.  At  night  the  Indians  stole  off,  having  lost 
nearly  thirty  killed ;  nor  did  the  trappers  escape  quite  un- 
hurt, three  being  killed  and  a  few  others  wounded. 

Since  men  were  of  such  value  to  the  fur  companies,  it 
would  seem  strange  that  they  should  deliberately  enter 
upon  an  Indian  fight  before  being  attacked.  But  unfortu- 
nate as  these  encounters  really  were,  they  knew  of  no 
other  policy  to  be  pursued.  They,  (the  American  Com- 
panies,) were  not  resident,  with  a  long  acquaintance,  and 


218  THE  TRAPPERS1  POLICY  OF  WAR. 

settled  policy,  such  as  rendered  the  Hudson's  Bay  Com- 
pany so  secure  amongst  the  savages.  They  knew  that 
among  these  unfriendly  Indians,  not  to  attack  was  to  be 
attacked,  and  consequently  little  time  was  ever  given  for 
an  Indian  to  discover  his  vicinity  to  a  trapper.  The  trap- 
per's shot  informed  him  of  that,  and  afterwards  the  race 
was  to  the  swift,  and  the  battle  to  the  strong.  Besides 
this  acknowledged  necessity  for  fighting  whenever  and 
wherever  Indians  were  met  with  in  the  Blackfeet  and  Crow 
countries,  almost  every  trapper  had  some  private  injury  to 
avenge — some  theft,  or  wound,  or  imprisonment,  or  at  the 
very  least,  some  terrible  fright  sustained  at  the  hands  of 
the  universal  foe.  Therefore  there  was  no  reluctance  to 
shoot  into  an  Indian  camp,  provided  the  position  of  the 
man  shooting  was  a  safe  one,  or  more  defensible  than  that 
of  the  man  shot  at.  Add  to  this  that  there  was  no  law  in 
the  mountains,  only  license,  it  is  easy  to  conjecture  that 
might  would  have  prevailed  over  right  with  far  less  incen- 
tive to  the  exercise  of  savage  practices  than  actually  did 
exist.  Many  a  trapper  undoubtedly  shot  his  Indian  "  for 
the  fun  of  it,"  feeling  that  it  was  much  better  to  do  so  than 
run  the  risk  of  being  shot  at  for  no  better  reason.  Of  this 
class  of  reasoners,  it  must  be  admitted,  Meek  was  one. 
Indian-fighting,  like  bear-fighting,  had  come  to  be  a  sort 
of  pastime,  in  which  he  was  proud  to  be  known  as  highly 
accomplished.  Having  so  many  opportunities  for  the  dis- 
play of  game  qualities  in  encounters  with  these  two  by-no- 
means-to-be  despised  foes  of  the  trapper,  it  was  not  often 
that  they  quarreled  among  themselves  after  the  grand  frolic 
of  the  rendezvous  was  over. 

It  happened,  however,  during  this  autumn,  that  while 
the  main  camp  was  in  the  valley  of  the  Yellowstone,  a 
party  of  eight  trappers,  including  Meek  and  a  comrade 
named  Stanberry,  were  trapping  together  on  the  Mussel 


A   DUEL   AVERTED.  219 

Shell,  when  the  question  as  to  which  was  the  bravest  man 
got  started  between  them,  and  at  length,  in  the  heat  of 
controversy,  assumed  such  importance  that  it  was  agreed 
to  settle  the  matter  on  the  following  day  according  to  the 
Virginia  code  of  honor,  i.  e.,  by  fighting  a  duel,  and  shoot- 
ing at  each  other  with  guns,  which  hitherto  had  only  done 
execution  on  bears  and  Indians. 

But  some  listening  spirit  of  the  woods  determined  to 
avert  the  danger  from  these  two  equally  brave  trappers, 
and  save  their  ammunition  for  its  legitimate  use,  by  giving 
them  occasion  to  prove  their  courage  almost  on  the  instant. 
While  sitting  around  the  camp-fire  discussing  the  coming 
event  of  the  duel  at  thirty  paces,  a  huge  bear,  already 
wounded  by  a  shot  from  the  gun  of  their  hunter  who  was 
out  looking  for  game,  came  running  furiously  into  camp, 
giving  each  man  there  a  challenge  to  fight  or  fly. 

"Now,"  spoke  up  one  of  the  men  quickly,  "let  Meek 
and  Stanberry  prove  which  is  bravest,  by  fighting  the 
bear!"  "Agreed,"  cried  the  two  as  quickly,  and  both 
sprang  with  guns  and  wiping-sticks  in  hand,  charging  upon 
the  infuriated  beast  as  it  reached  the  spot  where  they  were 
awaiting  it.  Stanberry  was  a  small  man,  and  Meek  a  large 
one.  Perhaps  it  was  owing  to  this  difference  of  stature 
that  Meek  was  first  to  reach  the  bear  as  it  advanced.  Run- 
ning up  with  reckless  bravado  Meek  struck  the  creature 
two  or  three  times  over  the  head  with  his  wiping-stick 
before  aiming  to  fire,  which  however  he  did  so  quickly 
and  so  surely  that  the  beast  fell  dead  at  his  feet.  This  act 
settled  the  vexed  question.  Nobody  was  disposed  to  dis- 
pute the  point  of  courage  with  a  man  who  would  stop  to 
strike  a  grizzly  before  shooting  him :  therefore  Meek  was 
proclaimed  by  the  common  voice  to  be  "cock  of  the  walk" 
in  that  camp.  The  pipe  of  peace  was  solemnly  smoked 
by  himself  and  Stanberry,  and  the  tomahawk  buried  never 


220  A   RUNAWAY   BEAR. 

more  to  be  resurrected  between  them,  while  a  fat  supper 
of  bear  meat  celebrated  the  compact  of  everlasting  amity. 

It  was  not  an  unfrequent  occurrence  for  a  grizzly  bear 
to  be  run  into  camp  by  the  hunters,  in  the  Yellowstone 
country  where  this  creature  abounded.  An  amusing  inci- 
dent occurred  not  long  after  that  just  related,  when  the 
whole  camp  was  at  the  Cross  Creeks  of  the  Yellowstone, 
on  the  south  side  of  that  river.  The  hunters  were  out, 
and  had  come  upon  two  or  three  bears  in  a  thicket.  As 
these  animals  sometimes  will  do,  they  started  off  in  a  great 
fright,  running  toward  camp,  the  hunters  after  them,  yell- 
ing, frightening  them  still  more.  A  runaway  bear,  like  a 
runaway  horse,  appears  not  to  see  where  it  is  going,  but 
keeps  right  on  its  course  no  matter  what  dangers  lie  in 
advance.  So  one  of  these  animals  having  got  headed  for 
the  middle  of  the  encampment,  saw  nothing  of  what  lay 
in  its  way,  but  ran  on  and  on,  apparently  taking  note  of 
nothing  but  the  yells  in  pursuit.  So  sudden  and  unex- 
pected was  the  charge  which  he  made  upon  camp,  that 
the  Indian  women,  who  were  sitting  on  the  ground  engaged 
in  some  ornamental  work,  had  no  time  to  escape  out  of  the 
way.  One  of  them  was  thrown  down  and  run  over,  and 
another  was  struck  with  such  violence  that  she  was  thrown 
twenty  feet  from  the  spot  where  she  was  hastily  attempting 
to  rise.  Other  objects  in  camp  were  upset  and  thrown  out 
of  the  way,  but  without  causing  so  much  merriment  as  the 
mishaps  of  the  two  women  who  were  so  rudely  treated  by 
the  monster. 

It  was  also  while  the  camp  was  at  the  Cross  Creeks  of 
the  Yellowstone  that  Meek  had  one  of  his  best  fought  bat- 
tles with  a  grizzly  bear.  He  was  out  with  two  compan- 
ions, one  Gardiner,  and  Mark  Head,  a  Shawnee  Indian. 
Seeing  a  very  large  bear  digging  roots  in  the  creek  bot- 
tom, Meek  proposed  to  attack  it,  if  the  others  would  hold 


A   GRIZZLY    AT    CLOSE    QUARTERS. 


221 


his  horse  ready  to  mount  if  he  failed  to  kill  the  creature. 
This  being  agreed  to  he  advanced  to  within  about  forty 
paces  of  his  game,  when  he  raised  his  gun  and  attempted 
to  fire,  but  the  cap  bursting  he  only  roused  the  beast, 
which  turned  on  him  with  a  terrific  noise  between  a  snarl 
and  a  growl,  showing  some  fearful  looking  teeth.  Meek 
turned  to  run  for  his  horse,  at  the  same  time  trying  to  put 
a  cap  on  his  gun ;  but  when  he  had  almost  reached  his 
comrades,  their  horses  and  his  own  took  fright  at  the  bear 
now  close  on  his  heels,  and  ran,  leaving  him  alone  with  the 
now  fully  infuriated  beast.  Just  at  the  moment  he  suc- 
ceeded in  getting  a  cap  on  his  gun,  the  teeth  of  the  bear 
closed  on  his  blanket  capote  which  was  belted  around  the 
waist,  the  suddenness  and  force  of  the  seizure  turning  him 
around,  as  the  skirt  of  his  capote  yielded  to  the  strain 
and  tore  off  at  the  belt.     Being  now  nearly  face  to  face 


SATISFIED   WITH   BEAR   FIGHTING. 


with  his  foe,  the  intrepid  trapper  thrust  his  gun  into  the 


222  SATISFIED    WITH  BEAR   FIGHTING. 

creature's  mouth  and  attempted  again  to  fire,  but  the  gun 
being  double  triggered  and  not  set,  it  failed  to  go  off. 
Perceiving  the  difficulty  he  managed  to  set  the  triggers 
with  the  gun  still  in  the  bear's  mouth,  yet  no  sooner  was 
this  done  than  the  bear  succeeded  in  knocking  it  out,  and 
firing  as  it  slipped  out,  it  hit  her  too  low  down  to  inflict  a 
fatal  wound  and  only  served  to  irritate  her  still  farther. 

In  this  desperate  situation  when  Meek's  brain  was  rap- 
idly working  on  the  problem  of  live  Meek  or  live  bear, 
two  fresh  actors  appeared  on  the  scene  in  the  persons  of 
two  cubs,  who  seeing  their  mother  in  difficulty  seemed 
desirous  of  doing  something  to  assist  her.  Their  appear- 
ance seemed  to  excite  the  bear  to  new  exertions,  for 
she  made  one  desperate  blow  at  Meek's  empty  gun  with 
which  he  was  defending  himself,  and  knocked  it  out  of  his 
hands,  and  far  down  the  bank  or  sloping  hillside  where 
the  struggle  was  now  going  on.  Then  being  partially 
blinded  by  rage,  she  seized  one  of  her  cubs  and  began  to 
box  it  about  in  a  most  unmotherly  fashion.  This  diversion 
gave  Meek  a  chance  to  draw  his  knife  from  the  scabbard, 
with  which  he  endeavored  to  stab  the  bear  behind  the 
ear :  but  she  was  too  quick  for  him,  and  with  a  blow  struck 
it  out  of  his  hand,  as  she  had  the  gun,  nearly  severing  his 
forefinger. 

At  this  critical  juncture  the  second  cub  interfered,  and 
got  a  boxing  from  the  old  bear,  as  the  first  one  had  done. 
This  too,  gave  Meek  time  to  make  a  movement,  and  loosen- 
ing his  tomahawk  from  his  belt,  he  made  one  tremen- 
dous effort,  taking  deadly  aim,  and  struck  her  just  behind 
the  ear,  the  tomahawk  sinking  into  the  brain,  and  his 
powerful  antagonist  lay  dead  before  him.  When  the  blow 
was  struck  he  stood  with  his  back  against  a  little  bluff  of 
rock,  beyond  which  it  was  impossible  to  retreat.  It  was 
his  last  chance,  and  his  usual  good  fortune  stood  by  him. 


WINTER-QUARTERS    ON   POWDER   RIVER.  223 

"When  the  struggle  was  over  the  weary  victor  mounted 
the  rock  behind  him  and  looked  down  upon  his  enemy 
slain;  and  "came  to  the  conclusion  that  he  was  satisfied 
with  bar-fighting." 

But  renown  had  sought  him  out  even  here,  alone  with 
his  lifeless  antagonist.  Capt.  Stuart  with  his  artist,  Mr. 
Miller,  chanced  upon  this  very  spot,  while  yet  the  con- 
queror contemplated  his  slain  enemy,  and  taking  posses- 
sion at  once  of  the  bear,  whose  skin  was  afterward  preserved 
and  stuffed,  made  a  portrait  of  the  "satisfied"  slayer.  A 
picture  was  subsequently  painted  by  Miller  of  this  scene, 
and  was  copied  in  wax  for  a  museum  in  St.  Louis,  where 
it  probably  remains  to  this  day,  a  monument  of  Meek's 
best  bear  fight.  As  for  Meek's  runaway  horse  and  run- 
away comrades,  they  returned  to  the  scene  of  action  too 
late  to  be  of  the  least  service,  except  to  furnish  our  hero 
with  transportation  to  camp,  which,  considering  the  weight 
of  his  newly  gathered  laurels,  was  no  light  service  after 
all. 

In  November  Bridger's  camp  arrived  at  the  Bighorn 
River,  expecting  to  winter ;  but  finding  the  buffalo  all  gone, 
were  obliged  to  cross  the  mountains  lying  between  the 
Bighorn  and  Powder  rivers  to  reach  the  buffalo  country 
on  the  latter  stream.  The  snow  having  already  fallen 
quite  deep  on  these  mountains  the  crossing  was  attended 
with  great  difficulty ;  and  many  horses  and  mules  were 
lost  by  sinking  in  the  snow,  or  falling  down  precipices 
made  slippery  by  the  melting  and  freezing  of  the  snow  on 
the  narrow  ridges  and  rocky  benches  along  which  they 
were  forced  to  travel. 

About  Christmas  all  the  company  went  into  winter-quar- 
ters on  Powder  River,  in  the  neighborhood  of  a  company 
of  Bonneville's  men,  left  under  the  command  of  Antoine 
Montero,  who  had  established  a  trading-post  and  fort  at 
15 


224  BONNEVILLE  S  MEN  ROBBED. 

this  place,  hoping,  no  doubt,  that  here  they  should  be 
comparatively  safe  from  the  injurious  competition  of  the 
older  companies.  The  appearance  of  three  hundred  men, 
who  had  the  winter  before  them  in  which  to  do  mischief, 
was  therefore  as  unpleasant  as  it  was  unexpected ;  and 
the  result  proved  that  even  Montero,  who  was  Bonneville's 
experienced  trader,  could  not  hold  his  own  against  so 
numerous  and  expert  a  band  of  marauders  as  Bridger's 
men,  assisted  by  the  Crows,  proved  themselves  to  be ;  for 
by  the  return  of  spring  Montero  had  very  little  remaining 
of  the  property  belonging  to  the  fort,  nor  anything  to  show 
for  it.  This  mischievous  war  upon  Bonneville  was  prompt- 
ed partly  by  the  usual  desire  to  cripple  a  rival  trader, 
which  the  leaders  encouraged  in  their  men  ;  but  in  some 
individual  instances  far  more  by  the  desire  for  revenge 
upon  Bonneville  personally,  on  account  of  his  censures 
passed  upon  the  members  of  the  Monterey  expedition, 
and  on  the  ways  of  mountain-men  generally. 

About  the  first  of  January,  Fontenelle,  with  four  men, 
and  Captain  Stuart's  party,  left  camp  to  go  to  St.  Louis 
for  supplies.  At  Fort  Laramie  Fontenelle  committed  sui- 
cide, in  a  fit  of  mania  apotu,  and  his  men  returned  to 
camp  with  the  news. 


CHAPTER    XVII. 

1837.  The  fate  of  Fontenelle  should  have  served  as  a 
■warning  to  his  associates  and  fellows.  '  Should  have  done,' 
however,  are  often  idle  words,  and  as  sad  as  they  are  idle ; 
they  match  the  poets  '  might  have  been,'  in  their  regret- 
ful impotency.  Perhaps  there  never  was  a  winter  camp 
in  the  mountains  more  thoroughly  demoralized  than  that 
of  Bridger  during  the  months  of  January  and  February. 
Added  to  the  whites,  who  were  reckless  enough,  were  a 
considerable  party  of  Delaware  and  Shawnee  Indians,  ex- 
cellent allies,  and  skillful  hunters  and  trappers,  but  having 
the  Indian's  love  of  strong  drink.  "  Times  were  pretty 
good  in  the  mountains,"  according  to  the  mountain-man's 
notion  of  good  times ;  that  is  to  say,  beaver  was  plenty, 
camp  large,  and  alcohol  abundant,  if  dear.  Under  these 
favorable  circumstance  much  alcohol  was  consumed,  and 
its  influence  was  felt  in  the  manners  not  only  of  the  trap- 
pers, white  and  red,  but  also  upon  the  neighboring  In- 
dians. 

The  Crows,  who  had  for  two  years  been  on  terms  of  a 
sort  of  semi-amity  with  the  whites,  found  it  to  their  in- 
terest to  conciliate  so  powerful  an  enemy  as  the  American 
Fur  Company  was  now  become,  and  made  frequent  visits 
to  the  camp,  on  which  occasion  they  usually  succeeded  in 
obtaining  a  taste  of  the  fire-water  of  which  .they  were  in- 
ordinately fond.  Occasionally  a  trader  was  permitted  to 
sell  liquor  to  the  whole  village,  when  a  scene  took  place 


226  A    CROW    CAROUSAL PICKED    CROWS. 

whose  peculiar  horrors  were  wholly  indescribable,  from  the 
inability  of  language  to  convey  an  adequate  idea  of  its 
hellish  degradation.  When  a  trader  sold  alcohol  to  a 
village  it  was  understood  both  by  himself  and  the  Indians 
what  was  to  follow.  And  to  secure  the  trader  against  in- 
jury a  certain  number  of  warriors  were  selected  out  of 
the  village  to  act  as  a  police  force,  and  to  guard  the  trader 
during  the  '  drunk '  from  the  insane  passions  of  his  cus- 
tomers.    To  the  police  not  a  drop  was  to  be  given. 

This  being  arranged,  and  the  village  disarmed,  the  ca- 
rousal began.  Every  individual,  man,  woman,  and  child, 
was  permitted  to  become  intoxicated.  Every  form  of 
drunkenness,  from  the  simple  stupid  to  the  silly,  the  he- 
roic, the  insane,  the  beastly,  the  murderous,  displayed 
itself.  The  scenes  which  were  then  enacted  beggared  de- 
scription, as  they  shocked  the  senses  of  even  the  hard- 
drinking,  license-loving  trappers  who  witnessed  them. 
That  they  did  not  "point  a  moral"  for  these  men,  is  the 
strangest  part  of  the  whole  transaction. 

When  everybody,  police  excepted,  was  drunk  as  drunk 
could  be,  the  trader  began  to  dilute  his  alcohol  with  water, 
until  finally  his  keg  contained  water  only,  slightly  flavored 
by  the  washings  of  the  keg,  and  as  they  continued  to 
drink  of  it  without  detecting  its  weak  quality,  they  finally 
drank  themselves  sober,  and  were  able  at  last  to  sum  up 
the  cost  of  their  intoxication.  This  was  generally  nothing 
less  than  the  whole  property  of  the  village,  added  to  which 
were  not  a  few  personal  injuries,  and  usually  a  few  mur- 
ders. The  village  now  being  poor,  the  Indians  were  cor- 
respondingly humble  ;  and  were  forced  to  begin  a  system 
of  reprisal  by  stealing  and  making  war,  a  course  for  which 
the  traders  were  prepared,  and  which  they  avoided  by 
leaving  that  neighborhood.  Such  were  some  of  the  sins 
and  sorrows  for  which  the  American  fur  companies  were 


NIGHT    VISIT    TO    THE    BLACKFOOT    VILLAGE.  227 

answerable,  and  which  detracted  seriously  from  the  re- 
spect that  the  courage,  and  other  good  qualities  of  the 
mountain-men  freely  commanded. 

By  the  first  of  March  these  scenes  of  wrong  and  riot 
were  over,  for  that  season  at  least,  and  camp  commenced 
moving  back  toward  the  Blackfoot  country.  After  re- 
crossing  the  mountains,  passing  the  Bighorn,  Clarke's,  and 
Rosebud  rivers,  they  came  upon  a  Blackfoot  village  on 
the  Yellowstone,  which  as  usual  they  attacked,  and  a  bat- 
tle ensued,  in  which  Manhead,  captain  of  the  Delawares 
was  killed,  another  Delaware  named  Tom  Hill  succeeding 
him  in  command.  The  fight  did  not  result  in  any  great 
loss  or  gain  to  either  party.  The  camp  of  Bridger  fought 
its  way  past  the  village,  which  was  what  they  must  do,  in 
order  to  proceed. 

Meek,  however,  was  not  quite  satisfied  with  the  punish- 
ment the  Blackfeet  had  received  for  the  killing  of  Man- 
head,  who  had  been  in  the  fight  with  him  when  the  Ca- 
manches  attacked  them  on  the  plains.  Desirous  of  doing 
something  on  his  own  account,  he  induced  a  comrade 
named  LeBlas,  to  accompany  him  to  the  village,  after  night 
had  closed  over  the  scene  of  the  late  contest.  Stealing 
into  the  village  with  a  noiselessness  equal  to  that  of  one 
of  Fennimore  Cooper's  Indian  scouts,  these  two  daring 
trappers  crept  so  near  that  they  could  look  into  the  lodges, 
and  see  the  Indians  at  their  favorite  game  of  Cache.  In- 
ferring from  this  that  the  savages  did  not  feel  their  losses 
very  severely,  they  determined  to  leave  some  sign  of  their 
visit,  and  wound  their  enemy  in  his  most  sensitive  part, 
the  horse.  Accordingly  they  cut  the  halters  of  a  number 
of  the  animals,  fastened  in  the  customary  manner  to  a 
stake,  and  succeeded  in  getting  off  with  nine  of  them, 
which  property  they  proceeded  to  appropriate  to  their 
own  use. 


228  STANLEY,    THE   INDIAN   PAINTER. 

As  the  spring  and  summer  advanced,  Bridger's  brigade 
advanced  into  the  mountains,  passing  the  Cross  Creek  of 
the  Yellowstone,  Twenty -five- Yard  River,  Cherry  River, 
and  coming  on  to  the  head-waters  of  the  Missouri  spent  the 
early  part  of  the  summer  in  that  locality.  Between  Gal- 
latin and  Madison  forks  the  camp  struck  the  great  trail  of 
the  Blackfeet.  Meek  and  Mark  Head  had  fallen  four  or 
five  days  behind  camp,  and  being  on  this  trail  felt  a  good 
deal  of  uneasiness.  This  feeling  was  not  lessened  by 
seeing,  on  coming  to  Madison  Fork,  the  skeletons  of  two 
men  tied  to  or  suspended  from  trees,  the  flesh  eaten  off 
their  bones.  Concluding  discretion  to  be  the  safest  part 
of  valor  in  this  country,  they  concealed  themselves  by  day 
and  traveled  by  night,  until  camp  was  finally  reached 
near  Henry's  Lake.  On  this  march  they  forded  a  flooded 
river,  on  the  back  of  the  same  mule,  their  traps  placed  on 
the  other,  and  escaped  from  pursuit  of  a  dozen  yelling 
savages,  who  gazed  after  them  in  astonishment;  "taking 
their  mule,"  said  Mark  Head,"  to  be  a  beaver,  and  them- 
selves great  medicine  men.  "  That,"  said  Meek,  "is  what 
I  call  'cooning'  a  river." 

From  this  point  Meek  set  out  with  a  party  of  thirty  or 
forty  trappers  to  travel  up  the  river  to  head-waters,  accom- 
panied by  the  famous  Indian  painter  Stanley,  whose  party 
was  met  with,  this  spring,  traveling  among  the  mountains. 
The  party  of  trappers  were  a  day  or  two  ahead  of  the 
main  camp  when  they  found  themselves  following  close 
after  the  big  Blackfoot  village  which  had  recently  passed 
over  the  trail,  as  could  be  seen  by  the  usual  signs ;  and 
also  by  the  dead  bodies  strewn  along  the  trail,  victims  of 
that  horrible  scourge,  the  small  pox.  The  village  was  evi- 
dently fleeing  to  the  mountains,  hoping  to  rid  itself  of  the 
plague  in  their  colder  and  more  salubrious  air. 

Not  long  after  coming  upon  these  evidences  of  prox- 


DESPERATE    FIGHT    WITH   BLACKFEET.  229 

imity  to  an  enemy,  a  party  of  a  hundred  and  fifty  of  their 
warriors  were  discovered  encamped  in  a  defile  or  narrow 
bottom  enclosed  by  high  bluffs,  through  which  the  trap- 
pers would  have  to  pass.  Seeing  that  in  order  to  pass  this 
war  party,  and  the  village,  which  was  about  half  a  mile  in 
advance,  there  would  have  to  be  some  fighting  done,  the 
trappers  resolved  to  begin  the  battle  at  once  by  attacking 
their  enemy,  who  was  as  yet  ignorant  of  their  neighbor- 
hood. In  pursuance  of  this  determination,  Meek,  Newell, 
Mansfield,  and  Le  Bias,  commenced  hostilities.  Leaving 
their  horses  in  camp,  they  crawled  along  on  the  edge  of 
the  overhanging  bluff  until  opposite  to  the  encampment 
of  Blackfeet,  firing  on  them  from  the  shelter  of  some 
bushes  which  grew  among  the  rocks.  But  the  Blackfeet, 
though  ignorant  of  the  number  of  their  enemy,  were  not 
to  be  dislodged  so  easily,  and  after  an  hour  or  two  of  ran- 
dom shooting,  contrived  to  scale  the  bluff  at  a  point  higher 
up,  and  to  get  upon  a  ridge  of  ground  still  higher  than 
that  occupied  by  the  four  trappers.  This  movement  dis- 
lodged the  latter,  and  they  hastily  retreated  through  the 
bushes  and  returned  to  camp. 

The  next  day,  the  main  camp  having  come  up,  the  fight 
was  renewed.  While  the  greater  body  of  the  company, 
with  the  pack-horses,  were  passing  along  the  high  bluff 
overhanging  them,  the  party  of  the  day  before,  and  forty 
or  fifty  others,  undertook  to  drive  the  Indians  out  of  the 
bottom,  and  by  keeping  them  engaged  allow  the  train  to 
pass  in  safety.  The  trappers  Tode  to  the  fight  on  this  oc- 
casion, and  charged  the  Blackfeet  furiously,  they  having 
joined  the  village  a  little  farther  on.  A  general  skirmish 
now  took  place.  Meek,  who  was  mounted  on  a  fine  horse, 
was  in  the  thickest  of  the  fight.  He  had  at  one  time  a 
side  to  side  race  with  an  Indian  who  strung  his  bow  so 


230  the  trapper's  last  shot. 

hard  that  the  arrow  dropped,  just  as  Meek,  who  had  loaded 
his  gun  running,  was  ready  to  fire,  and  the  Indian  dropped 
after  his  arrow. 

Newell  too  had  a  desperate  conflict  with  a  half-dead 
warrior,  who  having  fallen  from  a  wound,  he  thought  dead 
and  was  trying  to  scalp.  Springing  from  his  horse  he 
seized  the  Indian's  long  thick  hair  in  one  hand,  and  with 
his  knife  held  in  the  other  made  a  pass  at  the  scalp,  when 
the  savage  roused  up  knife  in  hand,  and  a  struggle  took 
place  in  which  it  was  for  a  time  doubtful  which  of  the 
combatants  would  part  with  the  coveted  scalp-lock.  New- 
ell might  have  been  glad  to  resign  the  trophy,  and  leave 
the  fallen  warrior  his  tuft  of  hair,  but  his  fingers  were  in 
some  way  caught  by  some  gun-screws  with  which  the  sav- 
age had  ornamented  his  coiffure,  and  would  not  part  com- 
pany. In  this  dilemma  there  was  no  other  alternative  but 
fight.  The  miserable  savage  was  dragged  a  rod  or  two  in 
the  struggle,  and  finally  dispatched. 

Mansfield  also  got  into  such  close  quarters,  surrounded 
by  the  enemy,  that  he  gave  himself  up  for  lost,  and  called 
out  to  his  comrades:  "Tell  old  Gabe,  (Bridger,)  that  old 
Cotton  (his  own  sobriquet)  is  gone."  He  lived,  however, 
to  deliver  his  own  farewell  message,  for  at  this  critical 
juncture  the  trappers  were  re-inforced,  and  relieved.  Still 
the  fight  went  on,  the  trappers  gradually  working  their 
way  to  the  upper  end  of  the  enclosed  part  of  the  valley, 
past  the  point  of  danger. 

Just  before  getting  clear  of  this  entanglement  Meek  be- 
came the  subject  of  another  picture,  by  Stanley,  who  was 
viewing  the  battle  from  the  heights  above  the  valley. 
The  picture  which  is  well  known  as  "The  Trapper's  Last 
Shot,"  represents  him  as  he  turned  upon  his  horse,  a  fine 
and  spirited  animal,  to  discharge  his  last  shot  at  an  Indian 


A   TALK    WITH    LITTLE-ROBE. 


231 


pursuing,  while  in  the  bottom,  at  a  little  distance  away, 
other  Indians  are  seen  skulking  in  the  tall  reedy  grass. 

The  last  shot  having  been  discharged  with  fatal  effect, 
our  trapper,  so  persistently  lionized  by  painters,  put  his 
horse  to  his  utmost  speed  and  soon  after  overtook  the 
camp,  which  had  now  passed  the  strait  of  danger.  But 
the  Blackfeet  were  still  unsatisfied  with  the  result  of  the 
contest.  They  followed  after,  reinforced  from  the  village, 
and  attacked  the  camp.  In  the  fight  which  followed  a 
Blackfoot  woman's  horse  was  shot  down,  and  Meek  tried 
to  take  her  prisoner :  but  two  or  three  of  her  people  com- 


AXD   THEREBY   HANGS   A   TAIL 


ing  to  the  rescue,  engaged  his  attention ;  and  the  woman 
was  saved  by  seizing  hold  of  the  tail  of  her  husband's 
horse,  which  setting  off  at  a  run,  carried  her  out  of 
danger. 

The  Blackfeet  found  the  camp  of  Bridger  too  strong 
for  them.  They  were  severely  beaten  and  compelled  to 
retire  to  their  village,  leaving  Bridger  free  to  move  on. 
The  following  day  the  camp  reached  the  village  of  Little- 
Robe,  a  chief  of  the  Peagans,  who  held  a  talk  with  Bridger, 


232  AN   INDIAN   IN   THE    WRONG    CAMP. 

complaining  that  his  nation  were  all  perishing  from  the 
small-pox  which  had  been  given  to  them  by  the  whites. 
Bridger  was  able  to  explain  to  Little-Robe  his  error ;  in- 
asmuch as  although  the  disease  might  have  originated 
among  the  whites,  it  was  communicated  to  the  Blackfeet 
by  Jim  Beckwith,  a  negro,  and  principal  chief  of  their 
enemies  the  Crows.  This  unscrupulous  wretch  had  caused 
two  infected  articles  to  be  taken  from  a  Mackinaw  boat, 
up  from  St.  Louis,  and  disposed  of  to  the  Blackfeet — 
whence  the  horrible  scourge  under  which  they  were  suf- 
fering. 

This  matter  being  explained,  Little-Robe  consented  to 
trade  horses  and  skins ;  and  the  two  camps  parted  amica- 
bly. The  next  day  after  this  friendly  talk,  Bridger  being 
encamped  on  the  trail  in  advance  of  the  Blackfeet,  an  In- 
dian came  riding  into  camp,  with  his  wife  and  daughter, 
pack-horse  and  lodge-pole,  and  all  his  worldly  goods,  un- 
aware until  he  got  there  of  the  snare  into  which  he  had 
fallen.  The  French  trappers,  generally,  decreed  to  kill 
the  man  and  take  possession  of  the  woman.  But  Meek, 
Kit  Carson,  and  others  of  the  American  trappers  of  the 
better  sort,  interfered  to  prevent  this  truly  savage  act. 
Meek  took  the  woman's  horse  by  the  head,  Carson  the 
man's,  the  daughter  following,  and  led  them  out  of  camp. 
Few  of  the  Frenchmen  cared  to  interrupt  either  of  these 
two  men,  and  they  were  suffered  to  depart  in  peace. 
When  at  a  safe  distance,  Meek  stopped,  and  demanded  as 
some  return  for  having  saved  the  man's  life,  a  present  of 
tobacco,  a  luxury  which,  from  the  Indian's  pipe,  he  sus- 
pected him  to  possess.  About  enough  for  two  chews  was 
the  result  of  this  demand,  complied  with  rather  grudg- 
ingly, the  Indian  vieing  with  the  trapper  in  his  devotion 
to  the  weed.     Just  at  this  time,  owing  to  the  death  of 


MR.  GRAY   AND   HIS   ADVENTURES.  233 

Fontenelle,  and  a  consequent  delay  in  receiving  supplies, 
tobacco  was  scarce  among  the  mountaineers. 

Bridger's  brigade  of  trappers  met  with  no  other  serious 
interruptions  on  their  summer's  march.  They  proceeded 
to  Henry's  Lake,  and  crossing  the  Rocky  Mountains,  trav- 
eled through  the  Pine  Woods,  always  a  favorite  region,  to 
Lewis'  Lake  on  Lewis'  Fork  of  the  Snake  River;  and 
finally  up  the  Grovant  Fork,  recrossing  the  mountains  to 
Wind  River,  where  the  rendezvous  for  this  year  was  ap- 
pointed. 

Here,  once  more,  the  camp  was  visited  by  a  last  years* 
acquaintance.  This  was  none  other  than  Mr.  Gray,  of  the 
Flathead  Mission,  who  was  returning  to  the  States  on  bus- 
iness connected  with  the  missionary  enterprise,  and  to 
provide  himself  with  a  helpmeet  for  life, — a  co-laborer 
and  sufferer  in  the  contemplated  toil  of  teaching  savages 
the  rudiments  of  a  religion  difficult  even  to  the  compre- 
hension of  an  old  civilization. 

Mr.  Gray  was  accompanied  by  two  young  men  (whites) 
who  wished  to  return  to  the  States,  and  also  by  a  son  of 
one  of  the  Flathead  chiefs.  Two  other  Flathead  Indians, 
and  one  Iroquois  and  one  Snake  Indian,  were  induced  to 
accompany  Mr.  Gray.  The  undertaking  was  not  without 
danger,  and  so  the  leaders  of  the  Fur  Company  assured 
him.  But  Mr.  Gray  was  inclined  to  make  light  of  the 
danger,  having  traveled  with  entire  safety  when  under  the 
protection  of  the  Fur  Companies  the  year  before.  He 
proceeded  without  interruption  until  he  reached  Ash  Hol- 
low, in  the  neighborhood  of  Fort  Laramie,  when  his  party 
was  attacked  by  a  large  band  of  Sioux,  and  compelled  to 
accept  battle.  The  five  Indians,  with  the  whites,  fought 
bravely,  killing  fifteen  of  the  Sioux,  before  a  parley  was 
obtained  by  the   intervention  of  a  French  trader  who 


234  MASSACRE    OF   MR.    GRAy's   INDIAN   ALLIES. 

chanced  to  be  among  the  Sioux.  When  Mr.  Gray  was 
able  to  hold  a  '  talk '  with  the  attacking  party  he  was  as- 
sured that  his  life  and  that  of  his  two  white  associates 
would  be  spared,  but  that  they  wanted  to  kill  the  strange 
Indians  and  take  their  fine  horses.  It  is  not  at  all  proba- 
ble that  Mr.  Gray  consented  to  this  sacrifice ;  though  he 
has  been  accused  of  doing  so. 

No  doubt  the  Sioux  took  advantage  of  some  hesi- 
tation on  his  part,  and  rushed  upon  his  Indian  allies  in  an 
unguarded  moment.  However  that  may  be,  his  allies 
were  killed  and  he  was  allowed  to  escape,  after  giving  up 
the  property  belonging  to  them,  and  a  portion  of  his  own. 

This  affair  was  the  occasion  of  much  ill-feeling  toward 
Mr.  Gray,  when,  in  the  following  year,  he  returned  to  the 
mountains  with  the  tale  of  massacre  of  his  friends  and  his 
own  escape.  The  mountain-men,  although  they  used  their 
influence  to  restrain  the  vengeful  feelings  of  the  Flathead 
tribe,  whispered  amongst  themselves  that  Gray  had  pre- 
ferred his  own  life  to  that  of  his  friends.  The  old  Flat- 
head chief  too,  who  had  lost  a  son  by  the  massacre,  was 
hardly  able  to  check  his  impulsive  desire  for  revenge ;  for 
he  held  Mr.  Gray  responsible  for  his  son's  life.  Nothing  more 
serious,  however,  grew  out  of  this  unhappy  tragedy  than  a 
disaffection  among  the  tribe  toward  Mr.  Gray,  which  made 
his  labors  useless,  and  finally  determined  him  to  remove  to 
the  Wallamet  Valley. 

There  were  no  outsiders  besides  Gray's  party  at  the  ren- 
dezvous of  this  year,  except  Captain  Stuart,  and  he  was 
almost  as  good  a  mountaineer  as  any.  This  doughty 
English  traveler  had  the  bad  fortune  together  with  that 
experienced  leader  Fitzpatrick,  of  being  robbed  by  the 
Crows  in  the  course  of  the  fall  hunt,  in  the  Crow  country. 
These  expert  horse  thieves  had  succeeded  in  stealing 


CAPT.    STUART    ROBBED    BY    THE    CROWS.  235 

nearly  all  the  horses  belonging  to  the  joint  camp,  and  had 
so  disabled  the  company  that  it  could  not  proceed.  In 
this  emergency,  Newell,  who  had  long  been  a  sub-trader 
and  was  wise  in  Indian  arts  and  wiles,  was  sent  to  hold  a 
talk  with  the  thieves.  The  talk  was  held,  according  to 
custom,  in  the  the  Medicine  lodge,  and  the  usual  amount 
of  smoking,  of  long  silences,  and  grave  looks,  had  to  be 
participated  in,  before  the  subject  on  hand  could  be  con- 
sidered. Then  the  chiefs  complained  as  usual  of  wrongs 
at  the  hands  of  the  white  men  ;  of  their  fear  of  small-pox, 
from  which  some  of  their  tribe  had  suffered ;  of  friends 
killed  in  battle  with  the  whites,  and  all  the  list  of  ills  that 
Crow  flesh  is  heir  to  at  the  will  of  their  white  enemies. 
The  women  too  had  their  complaints  to  proffer,  and  the 
number  of  widows  and  orphans  in  the  tribe  was  pathetic- 
ally set  forth.  The  chiefs  also  made  a  strong  point  of 
this  latter  complaint ;  and  on  it  the  wily  Newell  hung 
his  hopes  of  recovering  the  stolen  property. 

"  It  is  true,"  said  he  to  the  chiefs,  "  that  you  have  sus- 
tained heavy  losses.  But  that  is  not  the  fault  of  the  Blan- 
ket chief  (Bridger.)  If  your  young  men  have  been  killed, 
they  were  killed  when  attempting  to  rob  or  kill  our  Cap- 
tain's men.  If  you  have  lost  horses,  your  young  men  have 
stolen  five  to  our  one.  If  you  are  poor  in  skins  and  other 
property,  it  is  because  you  sold  it  all  for  drink  which  did 
you  no  good.  Neither  is  Bridger  to  blame  that  you  have 
had  the  small-pox.  Your  own  chief,  in  trying  to  kill  your 
enemies  the  Blackfeet,  brought  that  disease  into  the  coun- 
try. 

"  But  it  is  true  that  you  have  many  widows  and  orphans 
to  support,  and  that  is  bad.  I  pity  the  orphans,  and  will 
help  you  to  support  them,  if  you  will  restore  to  my  cap- 
tain the  property  stolen  from  his  camp.  Otherwise 
Bridger  will  bring  more  horses,  and  plenty  of  ammuni- 


236  ne  well's  address  to  the  crow  chiefs. 

tion,  and  there  will  be  more  widows  and  orphans  among 
the  Crows  than  ever  before." 

This  was  a  kind  of  logic  easy  to  understand  and  quick 
to  convince  among  savages.  The  bribe,  backed  by  a  threat, 
settled  the  question  of  the  restoration  of  the  horses,  which 
were  returned  without  further  delay,  and  a  present  of 
blankets  and  trinkets  was  given,  ostensibly  to  the  bereaved 
women,  really  to  the  covetous  chiefs. 


CHAPTER    XVIII. 

1837.  The  decline  of  the  business  of  hunting  furs  be- 
gan to  be  quite  obvious  about  this  time.  Besides  the 
American  and  St.  Louis  Companies,  and  the  Hudson's  Bay 
Company,  there  were  numerous  lone  traders  with  whom 
the  ground  was  divided.  The  autumn  of  this  year  was 
spent  by  the  American  Company,  as  formerly,  in  trapping 
beaver  on  the  streams  issuing  from  the  eastern  side  of  the 
Rocky  Mountains.  When  the  cold  weather  finally  drove 
the  Fur  Company  to  the  plains,  they  went  into  winter 
quarters  once  more  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  Crows  on 
Powder  River.  Here  were  re-enacted  the  wild  scenes  of 
the  previous  winter,  both  trappers  and  Indians  being 
given  up  to  excesses. 

On  the  return  of  spring,  Bridger  again  led  his  brigade 
all  through  the  Yellowstone  country,  to  the  streams  on 
the  north  side  of  the  Missouri,  to  the  head-waters  of  that 
river ;  and  finally  rendezvoused  on  the  north  fork  of  the 
Yellowstone,  near  Yellowstone  Lake.  Though  the  amount 
of  furs  taken  on  the  spring  hunt  was  considerable,  it  was 
by  no  means  equal  to  former  years.  The  fact  was  becom- 
ing apparent  that  the  beaver  was  being  rapidly  extermin- 
ated. 

However  there  was  beaver  enough  in  camp  to  furnish 
the  means  for  the  usual  profligacy.  Horse-racing,  betting, 
gambling,  drinking,  were  freely  indulged  in.  In  the 
midst  of  this  "  fun,"  there  appeared  at  the  rendezvous  Mr. 


238  A   MISSIONARY    PARTY— A    WAR   DANCE. 

Gray,  now  accompanied  by  Mrs.  Gray  and  six  other  mission- 
ary ladies  and  gentlemen.  Here  also  were  two  gentlemen 
from  the  Methodist  mission  on  the  Wallamet,  who  were 
returning  to  the  States.  Captain  Stuart  was  still  traveling 
with  the  Fur  Company,  and  was  also  present  with  his 
party ;  besides  which  a  Hudson's  Bay  trader  named  Ema- 
tinger  was  encamped  near  by.  As  if  actuated  to  extra- 
ordinary displays  by  the  unusual  number  of  visitors,  espe- 
cially the  four  ladies,  both  trappers  and  Indians  conducted 
themselves  like  the  mad-caps  they  were.  The  Shawnees 
and  Delawares  danced  their  great  war-dance  before  the 
tents  of  the  missionaries ;  and  Joe  Meek,  not  to  be  out- 
done, arrayed  himself  in  a  suit  of  armor  belonging  to  Cap- 
tain Stuart  and  strutted  about  the  encampment ;  then 
mounting  his  horse  played  the  part  of  an  ancient  knight, 
with  a  good  deal  of  eclat. 

Meek  had  not  abstained  from  the  alcohol  kettle,  but  had 
offered  it  and  partaken  of  it  rather  more  freely  than  usual ; 
so  that  when  rendezvous  was  broken  up,  the  St.  Louis 
Company  gone  to  the  Popo  Agie,  and  the  American  Com- 
pany going  to  Wind  River,  he  found  that  his  wife,  a  Nez 
Perce  who  had  succeeded  Umentucken  in  his  affections, 
had  taken  offence,  or  a  fit  of  homesickness,  which  was 
synonymous,  and  departed  with  the  party  of  Ematinger 
and  the  missionaries,  intending  to  visit  her  people  at 
Walla- Walla.  This  desertion  wounded  Meek's  feelings  ; 
for  he  prided  himself  on  his  courtesy  to  the  sex,  and  did 
not  like  to  think  that  he  had  not  behaved  handsomely. 
All  the  more  was  he  vexed  with  himself  because  his  spouse 
had  carried  with  her  a  pretty  and  sprightly  baby-daugh- 
ter, of  whom  the  father  was  fond  and  proud,  and  who  had 
been  christened  Helen  Mar,  after  one  of  the  heroines  of 
Miss  Porter's  Scottish  Chiefs — a  book  much  admired  in 
the  mountains,  as  it  has  been  elsewhere. 


PURSUIT    OF   A   RUNAWAY    SPOUSE.  239 

Therefore  at  the  first  cainp  of  the  American  Company, 
Meek  resolved  to  turn  his  back  on  the  company,  and  go 
after  the  mother  and  daughter.  Obtaining  a  fresh  kettle 
of  alcohol,  to  keep  up  his  spirits,  he  left  camp,  returning 
toward  the  scene  of  the  late  rendezvous.  But  in  the  effort 
to  keep  up  his  spirits  he  had  drank  too  much  alcohol,  and 
the  result  was  that  on  the  next  morning  he  found  himself 
alone  on  the  Wind  River  Mountain,  with  his  horses  and 
pack  mules,  and  very  sick  indeed.  Taking  a  little  more 
alcohol  to  brace  up  his  nerves,  he  started  on  again,  pass- 
ing around  the  mountain  on  to  the  Sweetwater ;  thence  to 
the  Sandy,  and  thence  across  a  country  without  water  for 
seventy-five  miles,  to  Green  River,  where  the  camp  of  Ema- 
tinger  was  overtaken. 

The  heat  was  excessive ;  and  the  absence  of  water  made 
the  journey  across  the  arid  plain  between  Sandy  and 
Green  Rivers  one  of  great  suffering  to  the  traveler  and 
his  animals ;  and  the  more  so  as  the  frequent  references  to 
the  alcohol  kettle  only  increased  the  thirst-fever  instead 
of  allaying  it.  But  Meek  was  not  alone  in  suffering. 
About  half  way  across  the  scorching  plain  he  discovered  a 
solitary  woman's  figure  standing  in  the  trail,  and  two 
riding  horses  near  her,  whose  drooping  heads  expressed 
their  dejection.  On  coming  up  with  this  strange  group, 
Meek  found  the  woman  to  be  one  of  the  missionary  ladies, 
a  Mrs.  Smith,  and  that  her  husband  was  lying  on  the 
ground,  dying,  as  the  poor  sufferer  believed  himself,  for 
water. 

Mrs.  Smith  made  a  weeping  appeal  to  Meek  for  water 
for  her  dying  husband ;  and  truly  the  poor  woman's  situ- 
ation was  a  pitiable  one.  Behind  camp,  with  no  protec- 
tion from  the  perils  of  the  desert  and  wilderness — only  a 
terrible  care  instead — the  necessity  of  trying  to  save  her 
husband's  life.  As  no  water  was  to  be  had,  alcohol  was 
16 


240  MEEK   ABUSES   A   MISSIONARY  ; 

offered  to  the  famishing  man,  who,  however,  could  not  be 
aroused  from  his  stupor  of  wretchedness.  Seeing  that 
death  really  awaited  the  unlucky  missionary  unless  some- 
thing could  be  done  to  cause  him  to  exert  himself,  Meek 
commenced  at  once,  and  with  unction,  to  abuse  the  man 
for  his  unmanliness.  His  style,  though  not  very  refined, 
was  certainly  very  vigorous. 

"  You're  a     pretty  fellow  to  be  lying  on  the 

ground  here,  lolling  your  tongue  out  of  your  mouth,  and 
trying  to  die.  Die,  if  you  want  to,  you're  of  no  account 
and  will  never  be  missed.  Here's  your  wife,  who  you 
are  keeping  standing  here  in  the  hot  sun ;  why  don't  she 
die  ?  She's  got  more  pluck  than  a  white-livered  chap  like 
you.  But  I'm  not  going  to  leave  her  waiting  here  for 
you  to  die.  Thar's  a  band  of  Indians  behind  on  the  trail, 
and  I've  been  riding  like  —  to  keep  out  of  their  way. 
If  you  want  to  stay  here  and  be  scalped,  you  can  stay ; 
Mrs.  Smith  is  going  with  me.  Come,  madam,"  continued 
Meek,  leading  up  her  horse,  "let  me  help  you  to  mount, 
for  we  must  get  out  of  this  cursed  country  as  fast  as  pos- 
sible." 

Poor  Mrs.  Smith  did  not  wish  to  leave  her  husband ;  nor 
did  she  relish  the  notion  of  staying  to  be  scalped.  Despair 
tugged  at  her  heart-strings.  She  would  have  sunk  to  the 
ground  in  a  passion  of  tears,  but  Meek  was  too  much  in 
earnest  to  permit  precious  time  to  be  thus  wasted.  "  Get 
on  your  horse,"  said  he  rather  roughly.  "  You  can't  save 
your  husband  by  staying  here,  crying.  It  is  better  that 
one  should  die  than  two ;  and  he  seems  to  be  a  worthless 
dog  anyway.     Let  the  Indians  have  him." 

Almost  lifting  her  upon  the  horse,  Meek  tore  the  dis- 
tracted woman  away  from  her  husband,  who  had  yet 
strength  enough  to  gasp  out  an  entreaty  not  to  be  left. 


AND    KIDNAPS   HIS   WIFE.  241 

"  You  can  follow  us  if  you  choose,"  said  the  apparently 
merciless  trapper,  "or  you  can  stay  where  you  are.  Mrs. 
Smith  can  find  plenty  of  better  men  than  you.  Come, 
madam !  "  and  he  gave  the  horse  a  stroke  with  his  riding- 
whip  which  started  him  into  a  rapid  pace. 

The  unhappy  wife,  whose  conscience  reproached  her 
for  leaving  her  husband  to  die  alone,  looked  back,  and 
saw  him  raising  his  head  to  gaze  after  them.  Her  grief 
broke  out  afresh,  and  she  would  have  gone  back  even 
then  to  remain  with  him :  but  Meek  was  firm,  and  again 
started  up  her  horse.  Before  they  were  quite  out  of  sight, 
Meek  turned  in  his  saddle,  and  beheld  the  dying  man  sit- 
ting up.  "Hurrah;"  said  he:  "he's  all  right.  He  will 
overtake  us  in  a  little  while :  "  and  as  he  predicted,  in 
little  over  an  hour  Smith  came  riding  up,  not  more  than 
half  dead  by  this  time.  The  party  got  into  camp  on 
Green  River,  about  eleven  o'clock  that  night,  and  Mrs. 
Smith  having  told  the  story  of  her  adventures  with  the 
unknown  trapper  who  had  so  nearly  kidnaped  her,  the 
laugh  and  the  cheer  went  round  among  the  company. 
" That's  Meek,"  said  Ematinger,  "you  may  rely  on  that. 
He's  just  the  one  to  kidnap  a  woman  in  that  way."  When 
Mrs.  Smith  fully  realized  the  service  rendered,  she  was 
abundantly  grateful,  and  profuse  were  the  thanks  which 
our  trapper  received,  even  from  the  much-abused  husband, 
who  was  now  thoroughly  alive  again.  Meek  failed  to 
persuade  his  wife  to  return  with  him.  She  was  homesick 
for  her  people,  and  would  go  to  them.  But  instead  of 
turning  back,  he  kept  on  with  Ematinger's  camp  as  far  as 
Fort  Hall,  which  post  was  then  in  charge  of  Courtenay 
Walker. 

.  While  the  camp  was  at  Soda  Springs,  Meek  observed 
the  missionary  ladies  baking  bread  in  a  tin  reflector  before 
a  fire.     Bread  was  a  luxury  unknown  to  the  mountain- 


242  meek's  black-eyed  daughter. 

man, — and  as  a  sudden  recollection  of  his  boyhood,  and 
the  days  of  bread-and-butter  came  over  him,  his  mouth 
began  to  water.  Almost  against  his  will  he  continued  to 
hang  round  the  missionary  camp,  thinking  about  the  bread. 
At  length  one  of  the  Nez  Perces,  named  James,  whom  the 
missionary  had  taught  to  sing,  at  their  request  struck  up 
a  hymn,  which  he  sang  in  a  very  creditable  manner.  As 
a  reward  of  his  pious  proficiency,  one  of  the  ladies  gave 
James  a  biscuit.  A  bright  thought  struck  our  longing 
hero's  brain.  "Go  back,"  said  he  to  James,  "and  sing 
another  hymn  ;  and  when  the  ladies  give  you  another  bis- 
cuit, bring  it  to  me."  And  in  this  manner,  he  obtained  a 
taste  of  the  coveted  luxury,  bread — of  which,  during  nine 
years  in  the  mountains  he  had  not  eaten. 

At  Fort  Hall,  Meek  parted  company  with  the  missiona- 
ries, and  with  his  wife  and  child.  As  the  little  black-eyed 
daughter  took  her  departure  in  company  with  this  new 
element  in  savage  life, — the  missionary  society, — her  Hi- 
ther could  have  had  no  premonition  of  the  fate  to  which 
the  admixture  of  the  savage  and  the  religious  elements 
was  step  by  step  consigning  her. 

After  remaining  a  few  days  at  the  fort,  Meek,  who  found 
some  of  his  old  comrades  at  this  place,  went  trapping  with 
them  up  the  Portneuf,  and  soon  made  up  a  pack  of  one 
hundred  and  fifty  beaver-skins.  These,  on  returning  to 
the  fort,  he  delivered  to  Jo.  Walker,  one  of  the  American 
Company's  traders  at  that  time,  and  took  Walker's  receipt 
for  them.  He  then,  with  Mansfield  and  Wilkins,  set  out 
about  the  first  of  September  for  the  Flathead  country, 
where  Wilkins  had  a  wife.  In  their  company  was  an  old 
Flathead  woman,  who  wished  to  return  to  her  people,  and 
took  this  opportunity. 

The  weather  was  still  extremely  warm.  It  had  been 
a  season  of  great  drought,  and  the  streams  were  nearly 


A   FEARFUL   MARCH INTENSE    SUFFERING.  243 

all  entirely  dried  up.  The  first  night  out,  the  horses, 
eight  in  number,  strayed  off  in  search  of  water,  and  were 
lost.  Now  commenced  a  day  of  fearful  sufferings.  No 
water  had  been  found  since  leaving  the  fort.  The  loss  of 
the  horses  made  it  necessary  for  the  company  to  separate 
to  look  for  them ;  Mansfield  and  Wilkins  going  in  one  di- 
rection, Meek  and  the  old  Flathead  woman  in  another. 
The  little  coolness  and  moisture  which  night  had  imparted 
to  the  atmosphere  was  quickly  dissipated  by  the  unchecked 
rays  of  the  pitiless  sun  shining  on  a  dry  and  barren  plain/ 
with  not  a  vestige  of  verdure  anywhere  in  sight.  On 
and  on  went  the  old  Flathead  woman,  keeping  always  in 
the  advance,  and  on  and  on  followed  Meek,  anxiously 
scanning  the  horizon  for  a  chance  sight  of  the  horses. 
Higher  and  higher  mounted  the  sun,  the  temperature  in- 
creasing in  intensity  until  the  great  plain  palpitated  with 
radiated  heat,  and  the  horizon  flickered  almost  like  a 
flame  where  the  burning  heavens  met  the  burning  earth. 
Meek  had  been  drinking  a  good  deal  of  rum  at  the  fort, 
which  circumstance  did  not  lessen  the  terrible  consuming 
thirst  that  was  torturing  him. 

Noon  came,  and  passed,  and  still  the  heat  and  the  suffer- 
ing increased,  the  fever  and  craving  of  hunger  being  now 
added  to  that  of  thirst.  On  and  on,  through  the  whole 
of  that  long  scorching  afternoon,  trotted  the  old  Flathead 
woman  in  the  peculiar  traveling  gait  of  the  Indian  and  the 
mountaineer,  Meek  following  at  a  little  distance,  and  go- 
ing mad,  as  he  thought,  for  a  little  water.  And  mad  he 
probably  was,  as  famine  sometimes  makes  its  victims. 
When  night  at  last  closed  in,  he  laid  down  to  die,  as  the 
missionary  Smith  had  done  before.  But  he  did  not  re- 
member Smith :  he  only  thought  of  water,  and  heard  it 
running,  and  fancied  the  old  woman  was  lapping  it  like  a 
wolf.     Then  he  rose  to  follow  her  and  find  it ;  it  was  al- 


244         THE    OLD    FLATHEAD    WOMAN WATER   AT    LAST. 

ways  just  ahead,  and  the  woman  was  howling  to  him  to 
show  him  the  trail. 

Thus  the  night  passed,  and  in  the  cool  of  the  early 
morning  he  experienced  a  little  relief.  He  was  really 
following  his  guide,  who  as  on  the  day  before  was  trotting 
on  ahead.  Then  the  thought  possessed  him  to  overtake 
and  kill  her,  hoping  from  her  shriveled  body  to  obtain  a 
morsel  of  food,  and  drop  of  moisture.  But  his  strength 
was  failing,  and  his  guide  so  far  ahead  that  he  gave  up 
the  thought  as  involving  too  great  exertion,  continuing 
to  follow  her  in  a  helpless  and  hopeless  kind  of  way. 

At  last !  There  was  no  mistake  this  time :  he  heard 
running  water,  and  the  old  woman  was  lapping  it  like  a 
wolf.  With  a  shriek  of  joy  he  ran  and  fell  on  his  face 
in  the  water,  which  was  not  more  than  one  foot  in  depth, 
nor  the  stream  more  than  fifteen  feet  wide.  But  it  had  a 
white  pebbly  bottom ;  and  the  water  was  clear,  if  not  very 
cool.  It  was  something  to  thank  God  for,  which  the  none 
too  religious  trapper  acknowledged  by  a  fervent  "  Thank 
God!" 

For  a  long  time  he  lay  in  the  water,  swallowing  it,  and 
by  thrusting  his  finger  down  his  throat  vomiting  it  up 
again,  to  prevent  surfeit,  his  whole  body  taking  in  the 
welcome  moisture  at  all  its  million  pores.  The  fever 
abated,  a  feeling  of  health  returned,  and  the  late  perish- 
ing man  was  restored  to  life  and  comparative  happiness. 
The  stream  proved  to  be  Godin's  Fork,  and  here  Meek 
and  his  faithful  old  guide  rested  until  evening,  in  the 
shade  of  some  willows,  where  their  good  fortune  was 
completed  by  the  appearance  of  Mansfield  and  Wilkins 
with  the  horses.  The  following  morning  the  men  found 
and  killed  a  fat  buffalo  cow,  whereby  all  their  wants  were 
supplied,  and  good  feeling  restored  in  the  little  camp. 

From  Godin's  Fork  they  crossed  over  to  Salmon  River, 


ARRIVAL  AT    THE   INDIAN   VILLAGE. 


245 


and  presently  struck  the  Nez  Perce  trail  which  leads  from 
that  river  over  into  the  Beaver-head  country,  on  the 
Beaver-head  or  Jefferson  Fork  of  the  Missouri,  where 
there  was  a  Flathead  and  Nez  Perce  village,  on  or  about 
the  present  site  of  Virginia  City,  in  Montana. 

Not  stopping  long  here,  Meek  and  his  companions  went 
on  to  the  Madison  Fork  with  the  Indian  village,  and  to 
the  shores  of  Missouri  Lake,  joining  in  the  fall  hunt  for 
buffalo. 


HORSE-TAIL   FALL. 


CHAPTER     XIX 


"Tell  me  all  about  a  buffalo  hunt,"  said  the  writer  to 
Joe  Meek,  as  we  sat  at  a  window  overlooking  the  Colum- 
bia River,  where  it  has  a  beautiful  stretch  of  broad  waters 
and  curving  wooded  shores,  and  talking  about  mountain 
life,  "  tell  me  how  you  used  to  hunt  buffalo." 

"  Waal,  there  is  a  good  deal  of  sport  in  runnin'  buffalo. 
"When  the  camp  discovered  a  band,  then  every  man  that 
wanted  to  run,  made  haste  to  catch  his  buffalo  horse.  We 
sometimes  went  out  thirty  or  forty  strong ;  sometimes  two 
or  three,  and  at  other  times  a  large  party  started  on  the 
hunt ;  the  more  the  merrier.  We  alway  had  great  banter- 
ing about  our  horses,  each  man,  according  to  his  own 
account,  having  the  best  one. 

"  When  we  first  start  we  ride  slow,  so  as  not  to  alarm 
the  buffalo.  The  nearer  we  come  to  the  band  the  greater 
our  excitement.  The  horses  seem  to  feel  it  too,  and  are 
worrying  to  be  off.  When  we  come  so  near  that  the  band 
starts,  then  the  word  is  given,  our  horses'  mettle  is  up, 
and  away  we  go !  k 

"  Thar  may  be  ten  thousand  in  a  band.  Directly  we 
crowd  them  so  close  that  nothing  can  be  seen  but  dust, 
nor  anything  heard  but  the  roar  of  their  trampling  and 
bellowing.  The  hunter  now  keeps  close  on  their  heels  to 
escape  being  blinded  by  the  dust,  which  does  not  rise  as 
high  as  a  man  on  horseback,  for  thirty  yards  behind  the 
animals.     As  soon  as  we  are  close  enough  the  firing  begins, 


THE  PURSUIT THE  CHARGE TUMBLES.       247 

and  the  band  is  on  the  run ;  and  a  herd  of  buffalo  can  run 
about  as  fast  as  a  good  race-horse.  How  they  do  thunder 
along !  They  give  us  a  pretty  sharp  race.  Take  care ! 
Down  goes  a  rider,  and  away  goes  his  horse  with  the  band. 
Do  you  think  we  stopped  to  look  after  the  fallen  man  ? 
Not  we.  We  rather  thought  that  war  fun,  and  if  he  got 
killed,  why,  '  he  war  unlucky,  that  war  all.  Plenty  more 
men:  couldn't  bother  about  him.' 

"  Thar's  a  fat  cow  ahead.  I  force  my  way  through  the 
band  to  come  up  with  her.  The  buffalo  crowd  around  so 
that  I  have  to  put  my  foot  on  them,  now  on  one  side,  now 
the  other,  to  keep  them  off  my  horse.  It  is  lively  work, 
I  can  tell  you.  A  man  has  to  look  sharp  not  to  be  run 
down  by  the  band  pressing  him  on ;  buffalo  and  horse  at 
the  top  of  their  speed. 

"  Look  out ;  thar's  a  ravine  ahead,  as  you  can  see  by  the 
plunge  which  the  band  makes.  Hold  up !  or  somebody 
goes  to  the  d — 1  now.  If  the  band  is  large  it  fills  the 
ravine  full  to  the  brim,  and  the  hindmost  of  the  herd  pass 
over  on  top  of  the  foremost.  It  requires  horseman- 
ship not  to  be  carried  over  without  our  own  consent;  but 
then  we  mountain-men  are  all  good  horsemen.  Over  the 
ravine  we  go ;  but  we  do  it  our  own  way. 

"We  keep  up  the  chase  for  about  four  miles,  selecting  our 
game  as  we  run,  and  killing  a  number  of  fat  cows  to  each 
man ;  some  more  and  some  less.  When  our  horses  are 
tired  we  slacken  up,  and  turn  back.  We  meet  the  camp- 
keepers  with  pack-horses.  They  soon  butcher,  pack  up 
the  meat,  and  we  all  return  to  camp,  whar  we  laugh  at 
each  other's  mishaps,  and  eat  fat  meat :  and  this  constitutes 
the  glory  of  mountain  life." 

"But  you  were  going  to  tell  me  about  the  buffalo  hunt 
at  Missouri  Lake  ?" 

il  Thar  isn't  much  to  tell.     It  war  pretty  much  like  other 


248  A   HUNT    WITH   THE   INDIANS. 

buffalo  hunts.  Thar  war  a  lot  of  us  trappers  happened  to 
be  at  a  Nez  Perce  and  Flathead  village  in  the  fall  of  '38, 
when  they  war  agoin'  to  kill  winter  meat;  and  as  their 
hunt  lay  in  the  direction  we  war  going,  we  joined  in.  The 
old  Nez  Perce  chief,  Kow-e-so-te  had  command  of  the  vil- 
lage, and  we  trappers  had  to  obey  him,  too. 

"  We  started  off  slow;  nobody  war  allowed  to  go  ahead 
of  camp.  In  this  manner  we  caused  the  buffalo  to  move 
on  before  us,  but  not  to  be  alarmed.  We  war  eight  or  ten 
days  traveling  from  the  Beaver-head  to  Missouri  Lake,  and 
by  the  time  we  got  thar,  the  whole  plain  around  the  lake 
war  crowded  with  buffalo,  and  it  war  a  splendid  sight ! 

"In  the  morning  the  old  chief  harangued  the  men  of  his 
village,  and  ordered  us  all  to  get  ready  for  the  surround. 
About  nine  o'clock  every  man  war  mounted,  and  we  began 
to  move. 

u  That  war  a  sight  to  make  a  man's  blood  warm !  A 
thousand  men,  all  trained  hunters,  on  horseback,  carrying 
their  guns,  and  with  their  horses  painted  in  the  height  of 
Indians'  fashion.  We  advanced  until  within  about  half  a 
mile  of  the  herd ;  then  the  chief  ordered  us  to  deploy  to 
the  right  and  left,  until  the  wings  of  the  column  extended 
a  long  way,  and  advance  again. 

"  By  this  time  the  buffalo  war  all  moving,  and  we  had 
come  to  within  a  hundred  yards  of  them.  Kow-e-so-te  then 
gave  us  the  word,  and  away  we  went,  pell-mell.  Heavens, 
what  a  charge !  What  a  rushing  and  roaring — men  shoot- 
ing, buffalo  bellowing  and  trampling  until  the  earth  shook 
under  them ! 

"It  war  the  work  of  half  an  hour  to  slay  two  thousand 
or  may  be  three  thousand  animals.  When  the  work  was 
over,  we  took  a  view  of  the  field.  Here  and  there  and 
everywhere,  laid  the  slain  buffalo.  Occasionally  a  horse 
with  a  broken  leg  war  seen;  or  a  man  with  a  broken  arm; 
or  maybe  he  had  fared  worse,  and  had  a  broken  head. 


KIT  CARSON  AND  THE  FRENCHMAN.         249 


"Now  came  out  the  women  of  the  village  to  help  us 
butcher  and  pack  up  the  meat.  It  war  a  big  job  ;  but  we 
war  not  long  about  it.  By  night  the  camp  war  full  of 
meat,  and  everybody  merry.  Bridger's-  camp,  which  war 
passing  that  way,  traded  with  the  village  for  fifteen  hun- 
dred buffalo  tongues — the  tongue  being  reckoned  a  choice 
part  of  the  animal.  And  that's  the  way  we  helped  the 
Nez  Perces  hunt  buffalo." 

"  But  when  you  were  hunting  for  your  own  subsistence 
in  camp,  you  sometimes  went  out  in  small  parties  ?" 

"  Oh  yes,  it  war  the  same  thing  on  a  smaller  scale.  One 
time  Kit  Carson  and  myself,  and  a  little  Frenchman,  named 
Marteau,  went  to  run  buffalo  on  Powder  River.  When 
we  came  in  sight  of  the  band  it  war  agreed  that  Kit  and 
the  Frenchman  should  do  the  running,  and  I  should  stay 
with  the  pack  animals.  The  weather  war  very  cold  and  I 
didn't  like  my  part  of  the  duty  much. 

"The  Frenchman's  horse  couldn't  run;  so  I  lent  him 
mine.  Kit  rode  his  own ;  not  a  good  buffalo  horse  either. 
In  running,  my  horse  fell  with  the  Frenchman,  and  nearly 
killed  him.  Kit,  who  couldn't  make  his  horse  catch, 
jumped  off,  and  caught  mine,  and  tried  it  again.  This 
time  he  came  up  with  the  band,  and  killed  four  fat  cows. 

"  When  I  came  up  with  the  pack-animals,  I  asked  Kit 
how  he  came  by  my  horse.  He  explained,  and  wanted  to 
know  if  I  had  seen  anything  of  Marteau :  said  my  horse 
had  fallen  with  him,  and  he  thought  killed  him.  '  You 
go  over  the  other  side  of  yon  hill,  and  see,'  said  Kit. 

"  What'll  I  do  with  him  if  he  is  dead?"  said  I. 

u  Can't  you  pack  him  to  camp  ?" 

"  Pack  —  "  said  I ;  "  I  should  rather  pack  a  load  of 
meat." 

"Waal,"  said  Kit,  "  I'll  butcher,  if  you'll  go  over  and 
see,  anyhow." 


250  MOUNTAIN    MANNERS. 

"  So  I  went  over,  and  found  the  dead  man  leaning  his 
head  on  his  hand,  and  groaning ;  for  he  war  pretty  bad 
hurt.  I  got  him  on  his  horse,  though,  after  a  while,  and 
took  him  back  to  whar  Kit  war  at  work.  We  soon  finished 
the  butchering  job,  and  started  back  to  camp  with  our 
wounded  Frenchman,  and  three  loads  of  fat  meat." 

"  You  were  not  very  compassionate  toward  each  other, 
in  the  mountains  ?" 

"  That  war  not  our  business.  We  had  no  time  for  such 
things.  Besides,  live  men  war  what  we  wanted;  dead 
ones  war  of  no  account." 


CHAPTER    XX. 

1838.  From  Missouri  Lake,  Meek  started  alone  for  the 
Gallatin  Fork  of  the  Missouri,  trapping  in  a  mountain 
basin  called  Gardiner's  Hole.  Beaver  were  plenty  here, 
but  it  was  getting  late  in  the  season,  and  the  weather  was 
cold  in  the  mountains.  On  his  return,  in  another  basin 
called  the  Burnt  Hole,  he  found  a  buffalo  skull;  and 
knowing  that  Bridger's  camp  would  soon  pass  that  way, 
wrote  on  it  the  number  of  beaver  he  had  taken,  and  also 
his  intention  to  go  to  Fort  Hall  to  sell  them. 

In  a  few  days  the  camp  passing  found  the  skull,  which 
grinned  its  threat  at  the  angry  Booshways,  as  the  chuck- 
ling trapper  had  calculated  that  it  would.  To  prevent  its 
execution  runners  were  sent  after  him,  who,  however, 
failed  to  find  him,  and  nothing  was  known  of  the  supposed 
renegade  for  some  time.  But  as  Bridger  passed  through 
Pierre's  Hole,  on  his  way  to  Green  river  to  winter,  he  was 
surprised  at  Meek's  appearance  in  camp.  He  was  soon 
invited  to  the  lodge  of  the  Booshways,  and  called  to  ac- 
count for  his  supposed  apostacy. 

Meek,  for  a  time,  would  neither  deny  nor  confess,  but 
put  on  his  free  trapper  airs,  and  laughed  in  the  face  of 
the  Booshways.  Bridger,  who  half  suspected  some  trick, 
took  the  matter  lightly,  but  Dripps  was  very  much  an- 
noyed, and  made  some  threats,  at  which  Meek  only 
laughed  the  more.  Finally  the  certificate  from  their  own 
trader,  Jo  Walker,  was  Droduced,   the  new  pack  of  furs 


252        AMONG    THE    NEZ   PERCES — ASKING    FOR   A   WIFE. 

surrendered,  and  Dripps'  wrath  turned  into  smiles  of  ap- 
proval. 

Here  again  Meek  parted  company  with  the  main  camp, 
and  went  on  an  expedition  with  seven  other  trappers,  un- 
der John  Larison,  to  the  Salmon  River :  but  found  the 
cold  very  severe  on  this  journey,  and  the  grass  scarce  and 
poor,  so  that  the  company  lost  most  of  their  horses. 

On  arriving  at  the  Nez  Perce  village  in  the  Forks  of 
the  Salmon,  Meek  found  the  old  chief  Kow-e-so-te  full  of 
the  story  of  the  missionaries  and  their  religion,  and  anx- 
ious to  hear  preaching.  Reports  were  continually  arriv- 
ing by  the  Indians,  of  the  wonderful  things  which  were 
being  taught  by  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Spalding  at  Lapwai,  on  the 
Clearwater,  and  at  Waiilatpu,  on  the  Walla-Walla  River. 
It  was  now  nearly  two  years  since  these  missions  had  been 
founded,  and  the  number  of  converts  among  the  Nez 
Perces  and  Flatheads  was  already  considerable. 

Here  was  an  opening  for  a  theological  student,  such  as 
Joe  Meek  was!  After  some  little  assumption  of  modesty, 
Meek  intimated  that  he  thought  himself  capable  of  giv- 
ing instruction  on  religious  subjects ;  and  being  pressed 
by  the  chief,  finally  consented  to  preach  to  Kow-e-so-te^  s 
people.  Taking  care  first  to  hold  a  private  council  with 
his  associates,  and  binding  them  not  to  betray  him,  Meek 
preached  his  first  sermon  that  evening,  going  regularly 
through  with  the  ordinary  services  of  a  "meeting." 

These  services  were  repeated  whenever  the  Indians 
seemed  to  desire  it,  until  Christmas.  Then,  the  village 
being  about  to  start  upon  a  hunt,  the  preacher  took  occa- 
sion to  intimate  to  the  chief  that  a  wife  would  be  an 
agreeable  present.  To  this,  however,  Kow-e-so-te  de- 
murred, saying  that  Spalding's  religion  did  not  permit 
men  to  have  two  wives :  that  the  Nez  Perces  had  many 
of  them  given  up  their  wives  on  this  account ;  and  that 


POLYGAMY    DEFENDED VD3GINIA.  253 

therefore,  since  Meek  already  had  one  wife  among  the  Nez 
Perces,  he  could  not  have  another  without  being  false  to 
the  religion  he  professed. 

To  this  perfectly  clear  argument  Meek  replied,  that 
among  white  men,  if  a  man's  wife  left  him  without  his 
consent,  as  his  had  done,  he  could  procure  a  divorce,  and 
take  another  wife.  Besides,  he  could  tell  him  how  the 
Bible  related  many  stories  of  its  best  men  having  several 
wives.  But  Kow-e-so-te  was  not  easily  convinced.  He 
could  not  see  how,  if  the  Bible  approved  of  polygamy, 
Spalding  should  insist  on  the  Indians  putting  away  all 
but  one  of  their  wives.  "  However,"  says  Meek,  "  after 
about  two  weeks'  explanation  of  the  doings  of  Solomon 
and  David,  I  succeeded  in  getting  the  chief  to  give  me  a 
young  girl,  whom  I  called  Virginia; — my  present  wife, 
and  the  mother  of  seven  children." 

After  accompanying  the  Indians  on  their  hunt  to  the 
Beaver-head  country,  where  they  found  plenty  of  buffalo, 
Meek  remained  with  the  Nez  Perce  village  until  about  the 
first  of  March,  when  he  again  intimated  to  the  chief  that 
it  was  the  custom  of  white  men  to  pay  their  preachers. 
Accordingly  the  people  were  notified,  and  the  winter's 
salary  began  to  arrive.  It  amounted  altogether  to  thir- 
teen horses,  and  many  packs  of  beaver,  beside  sheep-skins 
and  buffalo-robes ;  so  that  he  "  considered  that  with  his 
young  wife,  he  had  made  a  pretty  good  winter's  work 
of  it." 

In  March  he  set  out  trapping  again,  in  company  with 
one  of  his  comrades  named  Allen,  a  man  to  whom  he  was 
much  attached.  They  traveled  along  up  and  down  the 
Salmon,  to  Godin's  River,  Henry's  Fork  of  the  Snake,  to 
Pierre's  Fork,  and  Lewis'  Fork,  and  the  Muddy,  and 
finally  set  their  traps  on  a  little  stream  that  runs  out  of 
the  pass  which  leads  to  Pierre's  Hole. 


254         SURPRISED   BY   BLACKFEET DEATH    OF   ALLEN.  . 

Leaving  their  camp  one  morning  to  take  up  their  traps, 
they  were  discovered  and  attacked  by  a  party  of  Black- 
feet  just  as  they  came  near  the  trapping  ground.  The  only 
refuge  at  hand  was  a  thicket  of  willows  on  the  opposite 
side  of  the  creek,  and  towards  this  the  trappers  directed 
their  flight.  Meek,  who  was  in  advance,  succeeded  in 
gaining  the  thicket  without  being  seen  ;  but  Allen  stum- 
bled and  fell  in  crossing  the  stream,  and  wet  his  gun.  He 
quickly  recovered  his  footing  and  crossed  over ;  but  the 
Blackfeet  had  seen  him  enter  the  thicket,  and  came  up  to 
within  a  short  distance,  yet  not  approaching  too  near  the 
place  where  they  knew  he  was  concealed.  Unfortunately, 
Allen,  in  his  anxiety  to  be  ready  for  defense,  commenced 
snapping  caps  on  his  gun  to  dry  it.  The  quick  ears  of  the 
savages  caught  the  sound,  and  understood  the  meaning 
of  it.  Knowing  him  to  be  defenceless,  they  plunged  into 
the  thicket  after  him,  shooting  him  almost  immediately, 
and  dragging  him  out  still  breathing  to  a  small  prairie 
about  two  rods  away. 

And  now  commenced  a  scene  which  Meek  was  com- 
pelled to  witness,  and  which  he  declares  nearly  made  him 
insane  through  sympathy,  fear,  horror,  and  suspense  as  to 
his  own  fate.  Those  devils  incarnate  deliberately  cut  up 
their  still  palpitating  victim  into  a  hundred  pieces,  each 
taking  a  piece ;  accompanying  the  horrible  and  inhuman 
butchery  with  every  conceivable  gesture  of  contempt  for 
the  victim,  and  of  hellish  delight  in  their  own  acts. 

Meek,  who  was  only  concealed  by  the  small  patch  of 
willows,  and  a  pit  in  the  sand  hastily  scooped  out  with 
his  knife  until  it  was  deep  enough  to  lie  in,  was  in  a  state 
of  the  most  fearful  excitement.  All  day  long  he  had  to 
endure  the  horrors  of  his  position.  Every  moment  seemed 
an  hour,  every  hour  a  day,  until  when  night  came,  and  the 
Indians  left  the  place,  he  was  in  a  high  state  of  fever. 


THE   LAST    RENDEZVOUS.  255 

About  nine  o'clock  that  night  he  ventured  to  creep  to 
the  edge  of  the  little  prairie,  where  he  lay  and  listened  a 
long  time,  without  hearing  anything  but  the  squirrels 
running  over  the  dry  leaves;  but  which  he  constantly 
feared  was  the  stealthy  approach  of  the  enemy.     At  last, 

lowever,  he  summoned  courage  to  crawl  out  on  to  the  open 
ground,  and  gradually  to  work  his  way  to  a  wooded  bluff 

lot  far  distant.  The  next  day  he  found  two  of  his  horses, 
and  with  these  set  out  alone  for  Green  River,  where  the 
American  Company  was  to  rendezvous.  After  twenty-six 
days  of  solitary  and  cautious  travel  he  reached  the  ap- 
pointed place  in  safety,  having  suffered  fearfully  from  the 
recollection  of  the  tragic  scene  he  had  witnessed  in  the 
death  of  his  friend,  and  also  from  solitude  and  want  of 
food. 

The  rendezvous  of  this  year  was  at  Bonneville's  old 
fort  on  Green  River,  and  was  the  last  one  held  in  the 
mountains  by  the  American  Fur  Company..  Beaver  was 
growing  scarce,  and  competition  was  strong.  On  the  dis- 
banding of  the  company,  some  went  to  Santa  Fe,  some  to 
California,  others  to  the  Lower  Columbia,  and  a  few  re- 
mained in  the  mountains  trapping,  and  selling  their  furs 
to  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  at  Fort  Hall.  As  to  the 
leaders,  some  of  them  continued  for  a  few  years  longer  to 
trade  with  the  Indians,  and  others  returned  to  the  States, 
to  lose  their  fortunes  more  easily  far  than  they  made  them. 
Of  the  men  who  remained  in  the  mountains  trapping, 
that  year,  Meek  was  one.  Leaving  his  wife  at  Fort  Hall, 
he  set  out  in  company  with  a  Shawnee,  named  Big  Jim, 
to  take  beaver  on  Salt  River,  a  tributary  of  the  Snake. 
The  two  trappers  had  each  his  riding  and  his  pack  horse, 
and  at  night  generally  picketed  them  all ;  but  one  night 
Big  Jim  allowed  one  of  his  to  remain  loose  to  graze. 
This  horse,  after  eating  for  some  hours,  came  back  and 
17 


256  COLD    AND    STARVATION. 

laid  down  behind  the  other  horses,  and  every  now  and 
then  raised  up  his  head ;  which  slight  movement  at  length 
aroused  Big  Jim's  attention,  and  his  suspicions  also. 

"My  friend,"  said  he  in  a  whisper  to  Meek,  "Indian 
steal  our  horses." 

"Jump  up  and  shoot,"  was  the  brief  answer. 

Jim  shot,  and  ran  out  to  see  the  result.  Directly  he 
came  back  saying:  "My  friend,  I  shoot  my  horse;  break 
him  neck  ;"  and  Big  Jim  became  disconsolate  over  what 
his  white  comrade  considered  a  very  good  joke. 

The  hunt  was  short  and  not  very  remunerative  in  furs. 
Meek  soon  returned  to  Fort  Hall ;  and  when  he  did  so, 
found  his  new  wife  had  left  that  post  in  company  with  a 
party  under  Newell,  to  go  to  Fort  Crockett,  on  Green 
River, — Newell's  wife  being  a  sister  of  Virginia's, — on 
learning  which  he  started  on  again  alone,  to  join  that  party. 
On  Bear  River,  he  fell  in  with  a  portion  of  that  Quixotic 
band,  under  Farnham,  which  was  looking  for  paradise  and 
perfection,  something  on  the  Fourier  plan,  somewhere  in 
this  western  wilderness.  They  had  already  made  the  dis- 
covery in  crossing  the  continent,  that  perfect  disinterest- 
edness was  lacking  among  themselves;  and  that  the 
nearer  they  got  to  their  western  paradise  the  farther  off  it 
seemed  in  their  own  minds. 

Continuing  his  journey  alone,  soon  after  parting  from 
Farnham,  he  lost  the  hammer  of  his  gun,  which  accident 
deprived  him  of  the  means  of  subsisting  himself,  and  he 
had  no  dried  meat,  nor  provisions  of  any  kind.  The 
weather,  too,  was  very  cold,  increasing  the  necessity  for 
food  to  support  animal  heat.  However,  the  deprivation 
of  food  was  one  of  the  accidents  to  which  mountain-men 
were  constantly  liable,  and  one  from  which  he  had  often 
suffered  severely ;  therefore  he  pushed  on,  without  feeling 
any  unusual  alarm,  and  had  arrived  within  fifteen  miles 


SETTING    UP   IN    TRADE.  257 

of  the  fort  before  he  yielded  to  the  feeling  of  exhaustion, 
and  laid  down  beside  the  trail  to  rest.  Whether  he  would 
ever  have  finished  the  journey  alone  he  could  not  tell ;  but 
fortunately  for  him,  he  was  discovered  by  Jo  Walker,  and 
Gordon,  another  acquaintance,  who  chanced  to  pass  that 
way  toward  the  fort. 

Meek  answered  their  hail,  and  inquired  if  they  had  any- 
thing to  eat.  Walker  replied  in  the  affirmative,  and  get- 
ting down  from  his  horse,  produced  some  dried  buffalo 
meat  which  he  gave  to  the  famishing  trapper.  But  seeing 
the  ravenous  manner  in  which  he  began  to  eat,  Walker 
inquired  how  long  it  had  been  since  he  had  eaten  any- 
thing. 

"Five  days  since  I  had  a  bite." 

u  Then,  my  man,  you  can't  have  any  more  just  now,"  said 
Walker,  seizing  the  meat  in  alarm  lest  Meek  should  kill 
himself. 

"  It  was  hard  to  see  that  meat  packed  away  again,"  says 
Meek  in  relating  his  sufferings,  "I  told  Walker  that  if  my 
gun  had  a  hammer  I'd  shoot  and  eat  him.  But  he  talked 
very  kindly,  and  helped  me  on  my  horse,  and  we  all  went 
on  to  the  Fort." 

At  Fort  Crockett  were  Newell  and  his  party,  the  remain- 
der of  Farnham's  party,  a  trading  party  under  St.  Clair,  who 
owned  the  fort,  Kit  Carson,  and  a  number  of  Meek's  former 
.associates,  including  Craig  and  Wilkins.  Most  of  these 
men,  Othello-like,  had  lost  their  occupation  since  the  dis- 
banding of  the  American  Fur  Company,  and  were  much  at 
a  loss  concerning  the  future.  It  was  agreed  betwen  Newell 
and  Meek  to  take  what  beaver  they  had  to  Fort  Hall,  to 
trade  for  goods,  and  return  to  Fort  Crockett,  where  they 
would  commence  business  on  their  own  account  with  the 
Indians. 

Accordingly  they  set  out,  with  one  other  man  belonging 


258  A    CASE    OF    CONSCIENCE. 

to  Farnham's  former  adherents.  They  traveled  to  Henry's 
Fork,  to  Black  Fork,  where  Fort  Bridger  now  is,  to  Bear 
River,  to  Soda  Springs,  and  finally  to  Fort  Hall,  suffering 
much  from  cold,  and  finding  very  little  to  eat  by  the  way. 
At  Fort  Hall,  which  was  still  in  charge  of  Courtenay 
Walker,  Meek  and  Newell  remained  a  week,  when,  having 
purchased  their  goods  and  horses  to  pack  them,  they  once 
more  set  out  on  the  long,  cold  journey  to  Fort  Crockett. 
They  had  fifteen  horses  to  take  care  of  and  only  one  assist- 
ant, a  Snake  Indian  called  Al.  The  return  proved  an 
arduous  and  difficult  undertaking.  The  cold  was  very  se- 
vere ;  they  had  not  been  able  to  lay  in  a  sufficient  stock  of 
provisions  at  Fort  Hall,  and  game  there  was  none,  on  the 
route.  By  the  time  they  arrived  at  Ham's  Fork  the  only 
atom  of  food  they  had  left  was  a  small  piece  of  bacon  which 
they  had  been  carefully  saving  to  eat  with  any  poor  meat 
they  might  chance  to  find. 

The  next  morning  after  camping  on  Ham's  Fork  was 
stormy  and  cold,  the  snow  filling  the  air ;  yet  Snake  Al, 
with  a  promptitude  by  no  means  characteristic  of  him,  rose 
early  and  went  out  to  look  after  the  horses. 

"By  that  same  token,"  said  Meek  to  Newell,  "Al  has 
eaten  the  bacon."  And  so  it  proved,  on  investigation. 
Al's  uneasy  conscience  having  acted  as  a  goad  to  stir  him 
up  to  begin  his  duties  in  season.  On  finding  his  conjec- 
ture confirmed,  Meek  declared  his  intention,  should  no 
game  be  found  before  next  day  night,  of  killing  and  eat- 
ing Al,  to  get  back  the  stolen  bacon.  But  Providence 
interfered  to  save  Al's  bacon.  On  the  following  afternoon 
the  little  party  fell  in  with  another  still  smaller  but  better 
supplied  party  of  travelers,  comprising  a  Frenchman  and 
his  wife.  These  had  plenty  of  fat  antelope  meat,  which 
they  freely  parted  with  to  the  needy  ones,  whom  also  they 
accompanied  to  Fort  Crockett. 


WAR    UPON    HORSE    THIEVES.  259 

It  was  now  Christmas;  and  the  festivities  which  took 
place  at  the  Fort  were  attended  with  a  good  deal  of  rum 
drinking,  in  which  Meek,  according  to  his  custom,  joined, 
and  as  a  considerable  portion  of  their  stock  in  trade 
consisted  of  this  article,  it  may  fairly  be  presumed  that 
the  home  consumption  of  these  two  "lone  traders" 
amounted  to  the  larger  half  of  what  they  had  with  so 
much  trouble  transported  from  Fort  Hall.  In  fact,  "  times 
were  bad  enough "  among  the  men  so  suddenly  thrown 
upon  their  own  resources  among  the  mountains,  at  a  time 
when  that  little  creature,  which  had  made  mountain  life 
tolerable,  or  possible,  was  fast  being  exterminated. 

To  make  matters  more  serious,  some  of  the  worst  of  the 
now  unemployed  trappers  had  taken  to  a  life  of  thieving 
and  mischief  which  made  enemies  of  the  friendly  Indians, 
and  was  likely  to  prevent  the  better  disposed  from  enjoy- 
ing security  among  any  of  the  tribes.  A  party  of  these 
renegades,  under  a  man  named  Thompson,  went  over  to 
Snake  River  to  steal  horses  from  the  Nez  Perces.  Not 
succeeding  in  this,  they  robbed  the  Snake  Indians  of  about 
forty  animals,  and  ran  them  off  to  the  Uintee,  the  Indians 
following  and  complaining  to  the  whites  at  Fort  Crockett 
that  their  people  had  been  robbed  by  white  trappers,  and 
demanding  restitution. 

According  to  Indian  law,  when  one  of  a  tribe  offends, 
the  whole  tribe  is  responsible.  Therefore  if  whites  stole 
their  horses  they  might  take  vengeance  on  any  whites  they 
met,  unless  the  property  was  restored.  In  compliance 
with  this  well  understood  requisition  of  Indian  law,  a  party 
was  made  up  at  Fort  Crockett  to  go  and  retake  the  horses, 
and  restore  them  to  their  rightful  owners.  This  party 
consisted  of  Meek,  Craig,  Newell,  Carson,  and  twenty-five 
others,  under  the  command  of  Jo  Walker. 

The  horses  were  found  on  an  island  in  Green  River,  the 


260  GREEN    RIVER    CANYON. 

robbers  having  domiciled  themselves  in  an  old  fort  at  the 
mouth  of  the  Uintee.  In  order  to  avoid  having  a  fight 
with  the  renegades,  whose  white  blood  the  trappers  were 
not  anxious  to  spill,  Walker  made  an  effort  to  get  the  horses 
off  the  island  undiscovered.  But  while  horses  and  men 
were  crossing  the  river  on  the  ice,  the  ice  sinking  with 
them  until  the  water  was  knee-deep,  the  robbers  discovered 
the  escape  of  their  booty,  and  charging  on  the  trappers 
tried  to  recover  the  horses.  In  this  effort  they  were  not 
successful ;  while  Walker  made  a  masterly  flank  movement 
and  getting  in  Thompson's  rear,  ran  the  horses  into  the 
fort,  where  he  stationed  his  men,  and  succeeded  in  keep- 
ing the  robbers  on  the  outside.  Thompson  then  com- 
menced giving  the  horses  away  to  a  village  of  Utes  in  the 
neighborhood  of  the  fort,  on  condition  that  they  should 
assist  in  retaking  them.  On  his  side,  Walker  threatened 
the  Utes  with  dire  vengeance  if  they  dared  interfere.  The 
Utes  who  had  a  wholesome  fear  not  only  of  the  trappers, 
but  of  their  foes  the  Snakes,  declined  to  enter  into  the 
quarrel.  After  a  day  of  strategy,  and  of  threats  alterna- 
ted with  arguments,  strengthened  by  a  warlike  display, 
the  trappers  marched  out  of  the  fort  before  the  faces  of 
the  discomfitted  thieves,  taking  their  booty  with  them, 
which  was  duly  restored  to  the  Snakes  on  their  return  to 
Fort  Crockett,  and  peace  secured  once  more  with  that 
people.     . 

Still  times  continued  bad.  The  men  not  knowing  what 
else  to  do,  went  out  in  small  parties  in  all  directions  seek- 
ing adventures,  which  generally  were  not  far  to  find.  On 
one  of  these  excursions  Meek  went  with  a  party  down  the 
canyon  of  Green  River,  on  the  ice.  For  nearly  a  hundred 
miles  they  traveled  down  this  awful  canyon  without  find- 
ing but  one  place  where  they  could  have  come  out ;  and 
left  it  at  last  at  the  mouth  of  the  Uintee. 


RUNNING   ANTELOPES.  261 

This  passed  the  time  until  March.  Then  the  company 
of  Newell  and  Meek  was  joined  by  Antoine  Rubideau, 
who  had  brought  goods  from  Sante  Fe  to  trade  with  the 
Indians.  Setting  out  in  company,  they  traded  along  up 
Green  River  to  the  mouth  of  Ham's  fork,  and  camped. 
The  snow  was  still  deep  in  the  mountains,  and  the  trappers 
found  great  sport  in  running  antelope.  On  one  occasion 
a  large  herd,  numbering  several  hundreds,  were  run  on  to 
the  ice,  on  Green  River,  where  they  were  crowded  into 
an  air  hole,  and  large  numbers  slaughtered  only  for  the 
cruel  sport  which  they  afforded. 

But  killing  antelope  needlessly  was  not  by  any  means 
the  worst  of  amusements  practiced  in  Rubideau's  camp. 
That  foolish  trader  occupied  himself  so  often  and  so  long 
in  playing  Hand,  (an  Indian  game,)  that  before  he  parted 
with  his  new  associates  he  had  gambled  away  his  goods, 
his  horses,  and  even  his  wife;  so  that  he  returned  to  Santa 
Fe  much  poorer  than  nothing — since  he  was  in  debt. 

On  the  departure  of  Rubideau,  Meek  went  to  Fort  Hall, 
and  remained  in  that  neighborhood,  trapping  and  trading 
for  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company,  until  about  the  last  of 
June,  when  he  started  for  the  old  rendezvous  places  of  the 
American  Companies,  hoping  to  find  some  divisions  of  them 
at  least,  on  the  familiar  camping  ground.  But  his  journey 
was  in  vain.  Neither  on  Green  River  or  Wind  River, 
where  for  ten  years  he  had  been  accustomed  to  meet  the 
leaders  and  their  men,  his  old  comrades  in  danger,  did  he 
find  a  wandering  brigade  even.  The  glory  of  the  Ameri- 
can companies  was  departed,  and  he  found  himself  solitary 
among  his  long  familiar  haunts. 

With  many  melancholy  reflections,  the  man  of  twenty- 
eight  years  of  age  recalled  how,  a  mere  boy,  he  had  fallen 
half  unawares  into   the  kind  of  life  he  had  ever  since 


262  REFLECTIONS    AND    HALF-RESOLVES. 

led  amongst  the  mountains,  with  only  other  men  equally 
the  victims  of  circumstance,  and  the  degraded  savages,  for 
his  companions.  The  best  that  could  be  made  of  it, 
such  life  had  been  and  must  be  constantly  deteriorating 
to  the  minds  and  souls  of  himself  and  his  associates. 
Away  from  all  laws,  and  refined  habits  of  living ;  away 
from  the  society  of  religious,  modest,  and  accomplished 
women ;  always  surrounded  by  savage  scenes,  and  forced 
to  cultivate  a  taste  for  barbarous  things — what  had  this 
life  made  of  him  ?  what  was  he  to  do  with  himself  in  the 
future  ? 

Sick  of  trapping  and  hunting,  with  brief  intervals  of 
carousing,  he  felt  himself  to  be.  And  then,  even  if  he 
were  not,  the  trade  was  no  longer  profitable  enough  to 
support  him.  What  could  he  do?  where  could  he  go? 
He  remembered  his  talk  with  Mrs.  Whitman,  that  fair, 
tall,  courteous,  and  dignified  lady  who  had  stirred  in  him 
longings  to  return  to  the  civilized  life  of  his  native  state. 
But  he  felt  unfit  for  the  society  of  such  as  she.  Would 
he  ever,  could  he  ever  attain  to  it  now  ?  He  had  prom- 
ised her  he  might  go  over  into  Oregon  and  settle  down. 
But  could  he  settle  down  ?  Should  he  not  starve  at  try- 
ing to  do  what  other  men,  mechanics  and  farmers,  do  ? 
And  as  to  learning,  he  had  none  of  it;  there  was  no  hope 
then  of  "  living  by  his  wits,"  as  some  men  did — missiona- 
ries and  artists  and  school  teachers,  some  of  whom  he  had 
met  at  the  rendezvous.  Heigho!  to  be  checkmated  in 
life  at  twenty-eight,  that  would  never  do. 

At  Fort  Hall,  on  his  return,  he  met  two  more  missiona- 
ries and  their  wives  going  to  Oregon,  but  these  four  did 
not  affect  him  pleasantly ;  he  had  no  mind  to  go  with 
them.  Instead,  he  set  out  on  what  proved  to  be  his  last 
trapping  expedition,  with  a  Frenchman,  named  Mattileau. 


THE    LAST    TRAPPING    EXPEDITION. 


!83 


They  visited  the  old  trapping  grounds  on  Pierre's  Ifork, 
Lewis'  Lake,  Jackson's  River,  Jackson's  Hole,  Lewis 
River  and  Salt  River:  but  beaver  were  scarce;  and  it 
was  with  a  feeling  of  relief  that,  on  returning  by  way 
of  Bear  River,  Meek  heard  from  a  Frenchman  whom 
he  met  there,  that  he  was  wanted  at  Fort  Hall,  by  his 
friend  Newell,  who  had  something  to  propose  to  him. 


CASTLE    ROCK. 


CHAPTER    XXI. 

1840.  When  Meek  arrived  at  Fort  Hall,  where  Newell 
was  awaiting  him,  he  found  that  the  latter  had  there  the 
two  wagons  which  Dr.  Whitman  had  left  at  the  points  on 
the  journey  where  further  transportation  by  their  means 
had  been  pronounced  impossible.  The  Doctor's  idea  of 
finding  a  passable  wagon-road  over  the  lava  plains  and 
the  heavily  timbered  mountains  lying  between  Fort  Hall 
and  the  Columbia  River,  seemed  to  Newell  not  so  wild  a 
one  as  it  was  generally  pronounced  to  be  in  the  moun- 
tains. At  all  events,  he  was  prepared  to  undertake  the 
journey.  The  wagons  were  put  in  "traveling  order,  and 
horses  and  mules  purchased  for  the  expedition. 

"  Come,"  said  Newell  to  Meek,  "  we  are  done  with  this 
life  in  the  mountains — done  with  wading  in  beaver-dams, 
and  freezing  or  starving  alternately — done  with  Indian 
trading  and  Indian  fighting.  The  fur  trade  is  dead  in  the 
Rocky  Mountains,  and  it  is  no  place  for  us  now,  if  ever  it 
was.  We  are  young  yet,  and  have  life  before  us.  We 
cannot  waste  it  here  ;  we  cannot  or  will  not  return  to  the 
States.  Let  us  go  down  to  the  Wallamet  and  take  farms. 
There  is  already  quite  a  settlement  there  made  by  the 
Methodist  Mission  and  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company's  re- 
hired servants. 

"I  have  had  some  talk  with  the  Americans  who  have 
gone  down  there,  and  the  talk  is  that  the  country  is  going 
to  be  settled  up  by  our  people,   and  that  the  Hudson's 


THE   MOUNTAIN-MEN   AS   PIONEERS.  265 

Bay  Company  are  not  going  to  rule  this  country  much 
longer.  What  do  you  say,  Meek  ?  Shall  we  turn  Ameri- 
can settlers  ?" 

"  I'll  go  where  you  do,  Newell.  What  suits  you  suits 
me. 

"  I  thought  you'd  say  so,  and  that's  why  I  sent  for  you, 
Meek.     In  my  way  of  thinking,  a  white  man  is  a  little 

better  than  a  Canadian  Frenchman.     I'll  be    if  I'll 

hang  'round  a  post  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company.  So 
you'll  go  ?" 

"I  reckon  I  will!  What  have  you  got  for  me  to  do  ? 
/  haven't  got  anything  to  begin  with  but  a  wife  and 
baby!" 

11  Well,  you  can  drive  one  of  the  wagons,  and  take  your 
family  and  traps  along.  Nicholas  will  drive  the  other, 
and  I'll  play  leader,  and  look  after  the  train.  Craig  will 
go  also,  so  we  shall  be  quite  a  party,  with  what  strays 
we  shall  be  sure  to  pick  up." 

Thus  it  was  settled.  Thus  Oregon  began  to  receive 
her  first  real  emigrants,  who  were  neither  fur- traders  nor 
missionaries,  but  true  frontiersmen — border-men.  The 
training  which  the  mountain-men  had  received  in  the 
service  of  the  fur  companies  admirably  fitted  them  to  be, 
what  afterwards  they  became,  a  valuable  and  indispensa- 
ble element  in  the  society  of  that  country  in  whose  pe- 
culiar history  they  played  an  important  part.  But  we 
must  not  anticipate  their  acts  before  we  have  witnessed 
their  gradual  transformation  from  lawless  rangers  of  the 
wilderness,  to  law-abiding  and  even  law-making  and  law- 
executing  citizens  of  an  isolated  territory. 

In  order  to  understand  the  condition  of  things  in  the 
Wallamet  Valley,  or  Lower  Columbia  country,  it  will  bo 
necessary  to  revert  to  the  earliest  history  of  that  territory, 
as  sketched  in  the  first  chapter  of  this  book.     A  history 


266  CAPTAIN    GRAY    OF    THE    SHIP    COLUMBIA. 

of  the  fur  companies  is  a  history  of  Oregon  up  to  the 
year  1834,  so  far  as  the  occupation  of  the  country  was 
concerned.  But  its  political  history  was  begun  long  be- 
fore— from  the  time  (May  11th,  1792)  when  the  captain 
of  a  New  England  coasting  and  fur-trading  vessel  entered 
the  great  "  River  of  the  West,"  which  nations  had  been 
looking  for  for  a  hundred  years.  At  the  very  time  when 
the  inquisitive  Yankee  was  heading  his  little  vessel  through 
the  white  line  of  breakers  at  the  mouth  of  the  long-sought 
river,  a  British  exploring  expedition  was  scanning  the 
shore  between  it  and  the  Straits  of  Fuca,  having  wisely 
declared  its  scientific  opinion  that  there  was  no  such  river 
on  that  coast.  Vancouver,  the  chief  of  that  expedition, 
so  assured  the  Yankee  trader,  whose  views  did  not  agree 
with  his  own :  and,  Yankee-like,  the  trader  turned  back 
to  satisfy  himself. 

A  bold  and  lucky  man  was  Captain  Gray  of  the  ship 
Columbia.  No  explorer  he — only  an  adventurous  and, 
withal,  a  prudent  trader,  with  an  eye  to  the  main  chance ; 
emulous,  too,  perhaps,  of  a  little  glory !  It  is  impossible 
to  conceive  how  he  could  have  done  this  thing  calmly. 
We  think  his  stout  heart  must  have  shivered  somewhat, 
both  with  anticipation  and  dread,  as  he  ran  for  the  "  open- 
ing,1' and  plunged  into  the  frightful  tumult — straight 
through  the  proper  channel,  thank  God !  and  sailed  out 
on  to  the  bosom  of  that  beautiful  bay,  twenty-five  miles 
by  six,  which  the  great  river  forms  at  its  mouth. 

We  trust  the  morning  was  fine  :  for  then  Captain  Gray 
must  have  beheld  a  sight  which  a  discoverer  should  re- 
member for  a  lifetime.  This  magnificent  bay,  surrounded 
by  lofty  hills,  clad  thick  with  noble  forests  of  fir,  and 
fretted  along  its  margin  with  spurs  of  the  highlands,  form- 
ing other  smaller  bays  and  coves,  into  which  ran  streams 
whose  valleys  were  hidden  among  the  hills.    From  beyond 


DISCOVERY    OF    THE    COLUMBIA.  207 

the  farthest  point,  whose  dark  ridge  jutted  across  this  in- 
land sea,  flowed  down  the  deep,  broad  river,  whose  course 
and  origin  was  still  a  magnificent  mystery,  but  which  in- 
dicated by  its  volume  that  it  drained  a  mighty  region  of 
probable  great  fertility  and  natural  wealth.  Perhaps  Cap- 
tain Gray  did  not  fully  realize  the  importance  of  his  dis- 
covery. If  the  day  was  fine,  with  a  blue  sky,  and  the 
purple  shadows  lying  in  among  the  hills,  with  smooth 
water  before  him  and  the  foamy  breakers  behind — if  he 
felt  what  his  discovery  was,  in  point  of  importance,  to 
the  world,  he  was  a  proud  and  happy  man,  and  enjoyed 
the  reward  of  his  daring. 

The  only  testimony  on  that  head  is  the  simple  entry  on 
his  log-book,  telling  us  that  he  had  named  the  river  "  Co- 
lumbia's River"  —  with  an  apostrophe,  that  tiny  point 
intimating  much.  This  was  one  ground  of  the  American 
claim,  though  Vancouver,  after  Gray  had  reported  his 
success  to  him,  sent  a  lieutenant  to  explore  the  river,  and 
then  claimed  the  discovery  for  England  !  The  next  claim 
of  the  United  States  upon  the  Oregon  territory  was  by 
virtue  of  the  Florida  treaty  and  the  Louisiana  purchase. 
These,  and  the  general  one  of  natural  boundaries,  Eng- 
land contested  also.  Hence  the  treaty  of  joint  occupancy 
for  a  term  of  ten  years,  renewable,  unless  one  of  the  parties 
to  it  gave  a  twelve-month's  notice  of  intention  to  with- 
draw. Meantime  this  question  of  territorial  claims  hung 
over  the  national  head  like  the  sword  suspended  by  a 
hair,  which  statesmen  delight  in  referring  to.  We  did 
not  dare  to  say  Oregon  was  ours,  because  we  were  afraid 
England  would  make  war  on  us ;  and  England  did  not 
dare  say  Oregon  was  hers,  for  the  same  reason.  There- 
fore "  joint-occupancy "  was  the  polite  word  with  which 
statesmen  glossed  over  the  fact  that  Great  Britain  actually 
possessed  the  country  through  the  monopoly  of  the  Hud- 


268  FIRST    MISSIONARIES    TO    THE    WALLAMET. 

son's  Bay  Company.  That  company  had  a  good  thing  so 
long  as  the  government  of  Great  Britain  prevented  any 
outbreak,  by  simply  renewing  the  treaty  every  ten  years. 
Their  manner  of  doing  business  was  such  as  to  prevent 
any  less  powerful  corporation  from  interfering  with  them, 
while  individual  enterprise  was  sure  to  be  crushed  at  the 
start. 

But  "man  proposes  and  God  disposes."  In  1834,  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Board  of  Missions  sent  out  four  mis- 
sionaries to  labor  among  the  Indians.  These  were  two 
preachers,  the  Rev.  Messrs.  Jason  and  Daniel  Lee,  and 
two  lay  members,  Cyrus  Shepard  and  P.  L.  Edwards. 
These  gentlemen  were  liberally  furnished  with  all  the 
necessaries  and  comforts  of  life  by  the  Board,  in  addition 
to  which  they  received  the  kindest  attentions  and  consid- 
eration from  the  officers  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  at 
Vancouver.  Their  vessel,  the  May  Dacre,  Captain  Lam- 
bert, had  arrived  safely  in  the  river  with  the  mission 
goods.  The  gentlemen  at  Vancouver  epcouraged  their 
enterprise,  and  advised  them  to  settle  in  the  Wallamet 
valley,  the  most  fertile  tract  of  country  west  of  the  Rocky 
Mountains.  Being  missionaries,  nothing  was  to  be  feared 
from  them  in  the  way  of  trade.  The  Wallamet  valley 
was  a  good  country  for  the  mission — at  the  same  time  it 
was  south  of  the  Columbia  River.  This  latter  considera- 
tion was  not  an  unimportant  one  with  the  Hudson's  Bay 
Company,  it  being  understood  among  those  in  the  confi- 
dence of  the  British  government,  that  in  case  the  Oregon 
territory  had  to  be  divided  with  the  United  States,  the 
Columbia  River  would  probably  be  made  the  northern 
boundary  of  the  American  possessions. 

There  was  nothing  in  the  character  of  the  Christian 
Missionary's  labor  which  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  could 
possibly  object  to  without  a  palpable  violation  of  the 


dr.  john  Mclaughlin.  269 

Convention  of  1818.  Therefore,  although  the  Methodist 
mission  in  the  Wallamet  Valley  received  a  large  acces- 
sion to  its  numbers  in  1837,  they  were  as  kindly  wel- 
comed as  had  been  those  of  1834 ;  and  also  those  Pres- 
byterian missionaries  of  1836,  who  had  settled  in  the 
"  upper  country." 

Three  points,  however,  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company 
insisted  upon,  so  far  as,  under  the  treaty,  they  could ; 
the  Americans  must  not  trade  with  the  Indians,  but  con- 
fine themselves  to  agricultural  pursuits  and  missionary 
labor,  and  keep  on  the  south  side  of  the  Columbia. 

Not  an  immigrant  entered  Oregon  in  that  day  who 
did  not  proceed  at  once  to  Vancouver :  nor  was  there 
one  who  did  not  meet  with  the  most  liberal  and 
hospitable  treatment.  Neither  was  this  hospitality  a  tri- 
fling benefit ;  to  the  weary  traveler  just  arrived  from  a 
long  and  most  fatiguing  journey,  it  was  extremely  wel- 
come and  refreshing.  At  Vancouver  was  the  only  society, 
and  the  only  luxurious  living  to  be  enjoyed  on  the  whole 
Northwest  coast* 

At  the  head  of  the  first  was  Dr.  John  McLaughlin,  al- 
ready mentioned  as  the  Chief  Factor,  and  Deputy  Gov- 
ernor of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  in  Oregon,  and  all  the 
•Northwest.  He  was  of  Scotch  origin,  and  Canadian  birth, 
a  gentleman  bred,  with  a  character  of  the  highest  integ- 
rity, to  which  were  united  justice  and  humanity.  His  po- 
sition as  head  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company's  affairs,  was 
no  enviable  one  during  that  period  of  Oregon  history 
which  followed  the  advent  of  Americans  in  the  Wallamet 
Valley.  Himself  a  British  subject,  and  a  representative 
ef  that  powerful  corporation  which  bent  the  British  Gov- 
ernment to  its  will,  he  was  bound  to  execute  its  commands 
when  they  did  not  conflict  too  strongly  with  his  conscious- 
ness of  right  and  justice. 


270  EARLY    SETTLERS    IN    THE    WALLAMET    VALLEY. 

As  has  been  stated,  the  Methodist  mission  settlement  was 
reinforced  in  1837,  by  the  arrival  of  about  twenty  persons, 
among  whom  were  several  ladies,  and  a  few  children. 
These,  like  those  preceding  them,  were  first  entertained  at 
Fort  Vancouver  before  proceeding  to  the  mission,  which 
was  between  fifty  and  sixty  miles  up  the  Wallamet,  in  the 
heart  of  that  delightful  valley.  These  persons  came  by  a 
sailing  vessel  around  Cape  Horn,  bringing  with  them  sup- 
plies for  the  mission. 

In  the  two  following  years  there  were  about  a  dozen 
missionary  arrivals  overland,  all  of  whom  tarried  a  short 
time  at  the  American  Company's  rendezvous,  as  before  re- 
lated. These  were  some  of  them  designed  for  the  upper 
country,  but  most  of  them  soon  settled  in  the  Wallamet 
valley. 

During  these  years,  between  1834  and  1840,  there  had 
drifted  into  the  valley  various  persons  from  California,  the 
Rocky  Mountains,  and  from  the  vessels  which  sometimes 
appeared  in  the  Columbia ;  until  at  the  time  when  Newell 
and  Meek  resolved  to  quit  the  mountains,  the  American 
settlers  numbered  nearly  one  hundred,  men,  women,  and 
children.  Of  these,  about  thirty  belonged  to  the  missions ; 
the  remainder  were  mountain-men,  sailors,  and  adventur- 
ers. The  mountain-men,  most  of  them,  had  native  wives. 
Besides  the  Americans  there  were  sixty  Canadian  French- 
men, who  had  been  retired  upon  farms  by  the  Hudson's 
Bay  Company;  and  who  would  probably  have  occupied 
these  farms  so  long  as  the  H.  B.  Company  should  have 
continued  to  do  business  in  Oregon. 


CHAPTER    XXII. 

When  it  was  settled  that  Newell  and  Meek  were  to  go 
to  the  Wallamet,  they  lost  no  time  in  dallying,  but  packed 
the  wagons  with  whatever  they  possessed  in  the  way  of 
worldly  goods,  topped  them  with  their  Nez  Perce  wives 
and  half-breed  children,  and  started  for  Walla-Walla,  ac- 
companied by  Craig,  another  mountain-man,  and  either 
followed  or  accompanied  by  several  others.  Meek  drove 
a  five-in-hand  team  of  four  horses  and  one  mule.  Nicho- 
las drove  the  other  team  of  four  horses,  and  Newell,  who 
owned  the  train,  was  mounted  as  leader. 

The  journey  was  no  easy  one,  extending  as  it  did  over 
immense  plains  of  lava,  round  impassable  canyons,  over 
rapid  unbridged  rivers,  and  over  mountains  hitherto  be- 
lieved to  be  only  passable  for  pack  trains.  The  honor 
which  has  heretofore  been  accorded  to  the  Presbyterian 
missionaries  solely,  of  opening  a  wagon  road  from  the 
Rocky  Mountains  to  the  Columbia  River,  should  in  justice 
be  divided  with  these  two  mountaineers,  who  accomplished 
the  most  difficult  part  of  this  difficult  journey. 

Arrived  at  Fort  Boise,  a  post  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Com- 
pany, the  little  caravan  stopped  for  a  few  days  to  rest  and 
recruit  their  animals.  ■  With  the  usual  courtesy  of  that 
Company,  Mr.  Payette,  the  trader  in  charge,  offered  New- 
ell quarters  in  the  fort,  as  leader  of  his  party.  To  Meek 
and  Craig  who  were  encamped  outside,  he  sent  a  piece  of 

sturgeon  with  his  compliments,  which  our  incipient  Ore- 

18 


272  WAIILATPU HELEN   MAR. 

gonians  sent  back  again  with  their  compliments.  No 
Hudson's  Bay  distinctions  of  rank  for  them  !  No,  indeed ! 
The  moment  that  an  American  commenced  to  think  of 
himself  as  a  settler  on  the  most  remote  corner  of  Ameri- 
can soil,  that  moment,  as  if  by  instinct,  he  began  to  defend 
and  support  his  republicanism. 

After  a  few  days'  rest,  the  party  went  on,  encountering, 
as  might  be  expected,  much  difficulty  and  toil,  but  arriving 
safely  after  a  reasonable  time  at  the  Columbia  River,  at 
the  junction  of  the  Umatilla.  Here  the  wagons  and  stock 
were  crossed  over,  and  the  party  proceeded  directly  to 
Dr.  Whitman's  mission  at  Waiilatpu.  Dr.  Whitman  gave 
them  a  friendly  reception ;  killing  for  them,  if  not  the  fat- 
ted calf,  the  fattest  hog  he  had ;  telling  Meek  at  the  same 
time  that  "fat  pork  was  good  for  preachers,"  referring  to 
Meek's  missionary  labors  among  the  Nez  Perces. 

During  the  three  years  since  the  commencement  of  the 
mission  at  Waiilatpu  considerable  advancement  had  been 
made  in  the  progress  of  civilization  among  the  Cayuses. 
Quite  a  number  of  Indian  children  were  domesticated  with 
Mrs.  Whitman,  who  were  rapidly  acquiring  a  knowledge 
of  housekeeping,  sewing,  reading,  and  writing,  and  farm 
labor.  With  Mrs.  Whitman,  for  whom  Meek  still  enter- 
tained great  admiration  and  respect,  he  resolved  to  leave 
his  little  girl,  Helen  Mar ;  the  fruit  of  his  connexion  with 
the  Nez  Perce  woman  who  persisted  in  abandoning  him  in 
the  mountains,  as  already  related.  Having  thus  made 
provision  for  the  proper  instruction  of  his  daughter,  and 
conferred  with  the  Doctor  on  the  condition  of  the  Ameri- 
can settlers  in  Oregon  —  the  Doctor  being  an  ardent 
American — Meek  and  his  associates  started  once  more  for 
the  Wallamet. 

At  Walla- Walla  Newell  decided  to  leave  the  wagons, 
the  weather  having   become  so  rainy  and  disagreeable  as 


THE    DALLES   MISSION INDIAN   PRAYERS.  273 

to  make  it  doubtful  about  getting  them  over  the  Cascade 
Mountains  that  fall.  Accordingly  the  goods  were  trans- 
ferred to  pack-horses  for  the  remainder  of  the  journey. 
In  the  following  year,  however,  one  of  the  wagons  was 
brought  down  by  Newell,  and  taken  to  the  plains  on  the 
Tualatin  River,  being  the  first  vehicle  of  the  kind  in  the 
Wallamet  Valley. 

On  arriving  at  the  Dalles  of  the  Columbia,  our  moun- 
tain men  found  that  a  mission  had  been  established  at  that 
place  for  the  conversion  of  those  inconscionable  thieves, 
the  Wish-ram  Indians,  renowned  in  Indian  history  for  their 
acquisitiveness.  This  mission  was  under  the  charge  of 
Daniel  Lee  and  a  Mr.  Perkins,  and  was  an  offshoot  of  the 
Methodist  Mission  in  the  Wallamet  Valley.  These  gentle- 
men having  found  the  benighted  condition  of  the  Indians 
to  exceed  their  powers  of  enlightment  in  any  ordinary 
way,  were  having  recourse  to  extraordinary  efforts,  and 
were  carrying  on  what  is  commonly  termed  a  revival; 
though  what  piety  there  was  in  the  hearts  of  these  savages 
to  be  revived,  it  would  be  difficult  to  determine.  How- 
ever, they  doubtless  hoped  so  to  wrestle  with  God  them- 
selves, as  to  compel  a  blessing  upon  their  labors. 

The  Indians  indeed  were  not  averse  to  prayer.  They 
could  pray  willingly  and  sincerely  enough  when  they  could 
hope  for  a  speedy  and  actual  material  answer  to  their 
prayers.  And  it  was  for  that,  and  that  only,  that  they 
importuned  the  Christian's  God.  Finding  that  their 
prayers  were  not  answered  according  to  their  desire,  it  at 
length  became  difficult  to  persuade  them  to  pray  at  all. 
Sometimes,  it  is  true,  they  succeeded  in  deluding  the  mis- 
sionaries with  the  belief  that  they  were  really  converted, 
for  a  time.  One  of  these  most  hopeful  converts  at  the 
Dalles  mission,  being  in  want  of  a  shirt  and  capote,  volun- 
teered to  "  pray  for  a  whole  year,"  if  Mr.  Lee  would  fur- 
nish him  with  these  truly  desirable  articles. 


274  THE    IMPIOUS   CANADIAN. 

It  is  no  wonder  that  with  such  hopeless  material  to  work 
upon  the  Dalles  missionaries  withdrew  from  them  a  portion 
of  their  zeal,  and  bestowed  it,  where  it  was  quite  as  much 
needed,  upon  any  "stray  mountain-man"  who  chanced  to 
be  entertained  "within  their  gates."  Newell's  party, 
among  others,  received  the  well-meant,  but  not  always 
well-received  or  appreciated  attentions  of  these  gentlemen. 
The  American  mountaineer  was  not  likely  to  be  suddenly 
surprised  into  praying  in  earnest;  and  he  generally  had 
too  much  real  reverence  to  be  found  making  a  jest  in  the 
form  of  a  mocking  prayer. 

Not  so  scrupulous,  however,  was  Jandreau,  a  lively 
French  Canadian,  who  was  traveling  in  company  with  the 
Americans.  On  being  repeatedly  importuned  to  pray, 
with  that  tireless  zeal  which  distinguishes  the  Methodist 
preacher  above  all  others,  Jandreau  appeared  suddenly  to 
be  smitten  with  a  consciousness  of  his  guilt,  and  kneeling 
in  the  midst  of  the  'meeting,'  began  with  clasped  hands 
and  upturned  eyes  to  pour  forth  a  perfect  torrent  of  words. 
With  wonderful  dramatic  power  he  appeared  to  confess, 
to  supplicate,  to  agonize,  in  idiomatic  French.  His  tears 
and  ejaculations  touched  the  hearts  of  the  missionaries, 
and  filled  them  with  gladness.  They  too  ejaculated  and 
wept,  with  frequently  uttered  "Amens"and  "hallelujahs," 
until  the  scene  became  highly  dramatic  and  exciting.  In 
the  midst  of  this  grand  tableau,  when  the  enthusiasm  was 
at  its  height,  Jandreau  suddenly  ceased  and  rose  to  his  feet, 
while  an  irrepressible  outburst  of  laughter  from  his  asso- 
ciates aroused  the  astonished  missionaries  to  a  partial  com- 
prehension of  the  fact  that  they  had  been  made  the  subjects 
of  a  practical  joke,  though  they  never  knew  to  exactly 
how  great  an  extent. 

The  mischievous  Frenchman  had  only  recited  with  truly 
artistic  power,  and  with  such  variations  as  the  situation 


JANDREAU  CALLED  TO  AN  ACCOUNT.         275 

suggested,  one  of  the  most  wonderful  and  effective  tales 
from  the  Arabian  Nights  Entertainment,  with  which  he 
was  wont  to  delight  and  amuse  his  comrades  beside  the 
winter  camp-fire! 

But  Jandreau  was  called  to  account  when  he  arrived  at 
Vancouver.  Dr.  McLaughlin  had  heard  the  story  from 
some  of  the  party,  and  resolved  to  punish  the  man's  irrev- 
erence, at  the  same  time  that  he  gave  himself  a  bit  of 
amusement.  Sending  for  the  Rev.  Father  Blanchet,  who 
was  then  resident  at  Vancouver,  he  informed  him  of  the 
circumstance,  and  together  they  arranged  Jandreau's  pun- 
ishment. He  was  ordered  to  appear  in  their  united  pres- 
ence, and  make  a  true  statement  of  the  affair.  Jandreau 
confessed  that  he  had  done  what  he  was  accused  of  do- 
ing— made  a  mock  of  prayer,  and  told  a  tale  instead  of 
offering  a  supplication.  He  was  then  ordered  by  the  Rev. 
Father  to  rehearse  the  scene  exactly  as  it  occurred,  in  or- 
der that  he  might  judge  of  the  amount  of  his  guilt,  and 
apportion  him  his  punishment. 

Trembling  and  abashed,  poor  Jandreau  fell  upon  his 
knees  and  began  the  recital  with  much  trepidation.  But 
as  he  proceeded  he  warmed  with  the  subject,  his  dramatic 
instinct  asserted  itself,  tears  streamed,  and  voice  and  eyes 
supplicated,  until  this  second  representation  threatened  to 
outdo  the  first.  With  outward  gravity  and  inward  mirth 
his  two  solemn  judges  listened  to  the  close,  and  when  Jan- 
dreau rose  quite  exhausted  from  his  knees,  Father  Blan- 
chet hastily  dismissed  him  with  an  admonition  and  a 
light  penance.  As  the  door  of  Dr.  McLaughlin's  office 
closed  behind  him,  not  only  the  Doctor,  but  Father  Blan- 
chet indulged  in  a  burst  of  long  restrained  laughter  at 
the  comical  absurdities  of  this  impious  Frenchman. 

To  return  to  our  immigrants.  On  leaving  the  Dalles 
they  proceeded  on  down  the  south  side  of  the  river  as  far 


276  DOWN   THE    COLUMBIA. 

as  practicable,  or  opposite  to  the  Wind  Mountain.  At  this 
point  the  Indians  assisted  to  cross  them  over  to  the  north 
side,  when  they  .again  made  their  way  along  the  river  as 
far  as  Tea  Prairie  above  Vancouver.  The  weather  was 
execrable,  with  a  pouring  rain,  and  sky  of  dismal  gray ; 
December  being  already  far  advanced.  Our  travelers 
were  not  in  the  best  of  humors :  indeed  a  saint-like  amia- 
bility is  seldom  found  in  conjunction  with  rain,  mud,  fa- 
tigue, and  an  empty  stomach.  Some  ill-natured  suspicions 
were  uttered  to  the  effect  that  the  Indians  who  were  assist- 
ing to  cross  the  party  at  this  point,  had  stolen  some  ropes 
that  were  missing. 

Upon  this  dishonorable  insinuation  the  Indian  heart  was 
fired,  and  a  fight  became  imminent.  This  undesirable  cli- 
max to  emigrant  woes  was  however  averted  by  an  attack 
upon  the  indignant  natives  with  firebrands,  when  they 
prudently  retired,  leaving  the  travelers  to  pursue  their 
way  in  peace.  It  was  on  Sunday  that  the  weary,  dirty, 
hungry  little  procession  arrived  at  a  place  on  the  Walla- 
met  River  where  the  present  town  of  Milwaukie  is  situa- 
ted, and  found  here  two  missionaries,  the  Rev.  Messrs. 
Waller  and  Beers,  who  were  preaching  to  the  Indians. 

Meek  immediately  applied  to  Mr.  Waller  for  some  pro- 
visions, and  received  for  answer  that  it  was  "  Sunday." 
Mr.  Waller,  however,  on  being  assured  that  it  was  no  more 
agreeable  starving  on  Sunday  than  a  week-day,  finally  al- 
lowed the  immigrants  to  have  a  peck  of  small  potatoes. 
But  as  a  party  of  several  persons  could  not  long  subsist  on 
so  short  allowance,  and  as  there  did  not  seem  to  be  any 
encouragement  to  expect  more  from  the  missionaries,  there 
was  no  course  left  to  be  pursued  but  to  make  an  appeal  to 
Fort  Vancouver. 

To  Fort  Vancouver  then,  Newell  went  the  next  day, 
and  returned  on  the  following  one  with  some  dried  sal- 


DEPENDENCE    ON    FORT   VANCOUVER.  277 

mon,  tea,  sugar,  and  sea-bread.  It  was  not  quite  what  the 
mountain-men  could  have  wished,  this  dependence  on  the 
Hudson's  Bay  Company  for  food,  and  did  not  quite  agree 
with  what  they  had  said  when  their  hearts  were  big  in  the 
mountains.  Being  patriotic  on  a  full  stomach  is  easy  com- 
pared to  being  the  same  thing  on  an  empty  one ;  a  truth 
which  became  more  and  more  apparent  as  the  winter  pro- 
gressed, and  the  new  settlers  found  that  if  they  would  eat 
they  must  ask  food  of  some  person  or  persons  outside  of 
the  Methodist  Mission.  And  outside  of  that  there  was  in 
all  the  country  only  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company,  and  a 
few  mountain-men  like  themselves,  who  had  brought  noth- 
ing into  the  country,  and  could  get  nothing  out  of  it  at 
present. 

There  was  but  short  time  in  which  to  consider  what 
was  to  be  done.  Newell  and  Meek  went  to  Wallamet 
Falls,  the  day  after  Newell's  return  from  Vancouver,  and 
there  met  an  old  comrade,  Doughty,  who  was  looking  for 
a  place  to  locate.  The  three  made  their  camp  together 
on  the  west  side  of  the  river,  on  a  hill  overlooking  the 
Falls.  While  in  camp  they  were  joined  by  two  other 
Rocky  Mountain  men,  Wilkins  and  Ebbarts,  who  were  also 
looking  for  a  place  to  settle  in.  There  were  now  six  of 
the  Rocky  Mountain  men  together ;  and  they  resolved  to 
push  out  into  the  plains  to  the  west  of  them,  and  see  what 
could  be  done  in  the  matter  of  selecting  homes. 

As  for  our  hero,  we  fear  we  cannot  say  much  of  him 
here  which  would  serve  to  render  him  heroic  in  criticising 
Yankee  eyes.  He  was  a  mountain-man,  and  that  only. 
He  had  neither  book  learning,  nor  a  trade,  nor  any  knowl- 
edge of  the  simplest  affairs  appertaining  to  the  ordinary 
ways  of  getting  a  living.  He  had  only  his  strong  hands, 
and  a  heart  naturally  stout  and  light. 

His  friend  Newell  had  the  advantage  of  him  in  several 


278  THE    TUALATIN    PLAINS. 

particulars.  He  had  rather  more  book-knowledge,  more 
business  experience,  and  also  more  means.  With  these 
advantages  he  became  a  sort  of  "Booshway"  among  his 
old  comrades,  who  consented  to  follow  his  lead  in  the  im- 
portant movement  about  to  be  made,  and  settle  in  the 
Tualatin  Plains  should  he  decide  to  do  so. 

Accordingly  camp  was  raised,  and  the  party  proceeded 
to  the  Plains,  where  they  arrived  on  Christmas,  and  went 
into  camp  again.  ,  The  hardships  of  mountain  life  were 
light  compared  to  the  hardships  of  this  winter.  For  in 
the  mountains,  when  the  individual's  resources  were  ex- 
hausted, there  was  always  the  Company  to  go  to,  which 
was  practically  inexhaustible.  Should  it  be  necessary,  the 
Company  was  always  willing  to  become  the  creditor  of  a 
good  mountain-man.  And  the  debtor  gave  himself  no 
uneasiness,  because  he  knew  that  if  he  lived  he  could  dis- 
charge his  indebtedness.  But  everything  was  different 
now.  There  was  no  way  of  paying  debts,  even  if  there 
had  been  a  company  willing  to  give  them  credit,  which 
there  was  not,  at  least  among  Americans.  Hard  times 
they  had  seen  in  the  mountains ;  harder  times  they  were 
likely  to  see  in  the  valley ;  indeed  were  already  experi- 
encing. 

Instead  of  fat  buffalo  meat,  antelope,  and  mountain 
mutton,  which  made  the  plenty  of  a  camp  on  Powder 
River,  our  carniverous  hunters  were  reduced  to  eating 
daily  a  little  boiled  wheat.  In  this  extremity,  Meek  went 
on  an  expedition  of  discovery  across  the  highlands  that 
border  the  Lower  Wallamet,  and  found  on  Wappatoo 
(now  Sauvis)  Island,  a  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Baldra  living,  who 
were  in  the  service  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company,  and 
drew  rations  from  them.  With  great  kindness  they 
divided  the  provisions  on  hand,  furnishing  him  with  dried 
salmon  and  sea-bread,  to  which  he  added  ducks  and  swans 


A    DISAGREEABLE    WINTER.  279 

procured  from  the  Indians.  Poor  and  scanty  as  was  the 
supply  thus  obtained,  it  was,  after  boiled  wheat,  compara- 
tive luxury  while  it  lasted. 

1841.  The  winter  proved  a  very  disagreeable  one. 
Considerable  snow  fell  early,  and  went  off  with  heavy 
rains,  flooding  the  whole  country.  The  little  camp  on 
the  Tualatin  Plains  had  no  defence  from  the  weather  bet- 
ter than  Indian  lodges,  and  one  small  cabin  built  by 
Doughty  on  a  former  visit  to  the  Plains ;  for  Doughty  had 
been  one  of  the  first  of  the  mountain-men  to  come  to  the 
Wallamet  on  the  breaking  up  of  the  fur  companies.  In- 
dian lodges,  or  no  lodges  at  all,  were  what  the  men  were 
used  to ;  but  in  the  dryer  climate  of  the  Rocky  Moun- 
tains it  had  not  seemed  such  a  miserable  life,  as  it  now 
did,  where,  for  months  together,  the  ground  was  saturated 
with  rain,  while  the  air  was  constantly  charged  with 
vapor. 

As  for  going  anywhere,  or  doing  anything,  either  were 
equally  impossible.  No  roads,  the  streams  all  swollen  and 
out  of  banks,  the  rains  incessant,  there  was  nothing  for 
them  but  to  remain  in  camp  and  wait  for  the  return  of 
spring.  When  at  last  the  rainy  season  was  over,  and  the 
sun  shining  once  more,  most  of  the  mountain-men  in  the 
Tualatin  Plains  camp  took  land-claims  and  set  to  work 
improving  them.  Of  those  who  began  farming  that 
spring,  were  Newell,  Doughty,  Wilkins,  and  Walker. 
These  obtained  seed-wheat  from  the  Hudson's  Bay  Com- 
pany, also  such  farming  implements  as  they  must  have, 
and  even  oxen  to  draw  the  plow  through  the  strong 
prairie  sod.  The  wheat  was  to  be  returned  to  the  com- 
pany— the  cattle  also  ;  and  the  farming  implements  paid 
for  whenever  the  debtor  became  able.  This  was  certainly 
liberal  conduct  on  the  part  of  a  company  generally  un- 
derstood to  be  opposed  to  American  settlement. 


CHAPTER    XXIII. 

1841.  When  spring  opened,  Meek  assisted  Newell  in 
breaking  the  ground  for  wheat.  This  done,  it  became  nec- 
essary to  look  out  for  some  immediately  paying  employ- 
ment. But  paying  occupations  were  hard  to  find  in  that 
new  country.  At  last,  like  everybody  else,  Meek  found 
himself,  if  not  "hanging  about,"  at  least  frequently  visit- 
ing Vancouver.  Poor  as  he  was,  and  unpromising  as 
looked  the  future,  he  was  the  same  light-hearted,  reckless, 
and  fearless  Joe  Meek  that  he  had  been  in  the  mountains ; 
as  jaunty  and  jolly  a  ragged  mountaineer  as  ever  was  seen 
at  the  Fort.  Especially  he  delighted  in  recounting  his  In- 
dian fights,  because  the  Company,  and  Dr.  McLaughlin  in 
particular,  disapproved  the  American  Company's  conduct 
with  the  Indians. 

When  the  Doctor  chanced  to  overhear  Meek's  stories, 
as  he  sometimes  did,  he  would  say  "Mr.  Joe,  Mr.  Joe, — (a 
habit  the  Doctor  had  of  speaking  rapidly,  and  repeating 
his  words,) — Mr.  Joe,  Mr.  Joe,  you  must  leave  off  killing 
Indians,  and  go  to  work." 

"I  can't  work,"  Meek  would  answer  in  his  impressively 
slow  and  smooth  utterance,  at  the  same  time  giving  his 
shoulders  a  slight  shrug,  and  looking  the  Doctor  pleasantly 
in  the  face. 

During  the  summer,  however,  the  United  States  Explor- 
ing Squadron,  under  Commodore  Wilkes,  entered  the  Co- 
lumbia River,  and  proceeded  to  explore  the  country  in 
several  directions ;  and  it  was  now  that  Meek  found  an 


INTERCHANGE    OF    COURTESIES   AT    VANCOUVER.  281 

employment  suited  to  him ;  being  engaged  by  Wilkes  as 
pilot  and  servant  while  on  his  several  tours  through  the 
country. 

On  the  arrival  of  three  vessels  of  the  squadron  at  Van- 
couver, and  the  first  ceremonious  visit  of  Dr.  McLaughlin 
and  his  associates  to  Commodore  Wilkes  on  board,  there 
was  considerable  display,  the  men  in  the  yards,  saluting, - 
and  all  the  honors  due  to  the  representative  of  a  friendly 
foreign  power.  After  dinner,  while  the  guests  were  walk- 
ing on  deck  engaged  in  conversation,  the  talk  turned  up- 
on the  loss  of  the  Peacock,  one  of  the  vessels  belonging 
to  the  U.  S.  squadron,  which  was  wrecked  on  the  bar  at 
the  mouth  of  the  Columbia.  The  English  gentlemen  were 
polite  enough  to  be  expressing  their  regrets  at  the  loss  to 
the  United  States,  when  Meek,  who  had  picked  up  a  little 
history  in  spite  of  his  life  spent  in  the  mountains,  laugh- 
ingly interrupted  with : 

"No  loss  at  all,  gentlemen.  Uncle  Sam  can  get  another 
Peacock  the  way  he  got  that  one." 

Wilkes,  who  probably  regretted  the  allusion,  as  not  be- 
ing consonant  with  the  spirit  of  hospitality,  passed  over 
the  interruption  in  silence.  But  when  the  gentlemen  from 
Vancouver  had  taken  leave  he  turned  to  Meek  with  a 
meaning  twinkle  in  his  eyes : 

"Meek,"  said  he,  "go  down  to  my  cabin  and  you'll  find 
there  something  good  to  eat,  and  some  first-rate  brandy." 
Of  course  Meek  went. 

While  Wilkes  was  exploring  in  the  Cowelitz  Valley, 
with  Meek  and  a  Hudson's  Bay  man  named  Forrest,  as 
guides,  he  one  day  laid  down  in  his  tent  to  sleep,  leaving 
his  chronometer  watch  lying  on  the  camp-table  beside 
him.  Forrest,  happening  to  observe  that  it  did  not  agree 
with  his  own,  which  he  believed  to  be  correct,  very  kindly, 
as  he  supposed,  regulated  it  to  agree  with  his.     On  awak- 


282  LAND    EXPEDITION    TO    CALIFORNIA. 

ening  and  taking  up  his  watch,  a  puzzled  expression  came 
over  Wilkes'  face  for  a  moment,  as  he  discovered  the 
change  in  the  time ;  then  one  of  anger  and  disappoint- 
ment, as  what  had  occurred  flashed  over  his  mind ;  fol- 
lowed by  some  rather  strong  expressions  of  indignation. 
Forrest  was  penitent  when  he  perceived  the  mischief  done 
by  his  meddling,  but  that  would  not  restore  the  chronom- 
eter to  the  true  time :  and  this  accident  proved  a  serious 
annoyance  and  hindrance  during  the  remainder  of  the 
expedition. 

After  exploring  the  Cowelitz  Valley,  Wilkes  dispatched 
a  party  under  Lieutenant  Emmons,  to  proceed  up  the 
Wallamet  Valley,  thence  south  along  the  old  trail  of  the 
Hudson's  Bay  Company,  to  California.  Meek  was  em- 
ployed to  pilot  this  party,  which  had  reached  the  head  of 
the  valley,  when  it  became  necessary  to  send  for  some  pa- 
pers in  the  possession  of  the  Commodore ;  and  he  returned 
to  Astoria  upon  this  duty.  On  joining  Emmons  again  he 
found  that  some  of  his  men  had  become  disaffected  toward 
him;  especially  Jandreau,  the  same  Frenchman  who 
prayed  so  dramatically  at  the  Dalles. 

Jandreau  confided  to  Meek  that  he  hated  Emmons,  and 
intended  to  kill  him.  The  next  morning,  when  Lieut.  E. 
was  examining  the  arms  of  the  party,  he  fired  off  Jan- 
dreau's  gun,  which  being  purposely  overcharged,  flew 
back  and  inflicted  some  injuries  upon  the  Lieutenant. 

"What  do  you  mean  by  loading  a  gun  like  that?"  in- 
quired Emmons,  in  a  rage. 

"I  meant  it  to  kill  two  Injuns; — one  before,  and  one 
behind;"  answered  Jandreau. 

As  might  be  conjectured  Jandreau  was  made  to  fire  his 
own  gun  after  that. 

The  expedition  had  not  proceeded  much  farther  when 
it  again  became  necessary  to  send  an  express  to  Vancou- 


A   VISIT    TO    THE   NEW   MISSION.  283 

ver,  and  Meek  was  ordered  upon  this  duty.  Here  he 
found  that  Wilkes  had  purchased  a  small  vessel  which  he 
named  the  Oregon,  with  which  he  was  about  to  leave  the 
country.  As  there  was  no  further  use  for  his  services  our 
quondam  trapper  was  again  thrown  out  of  employment. 
In  this  exigency,  finding  it  necessary  to  make  some  pro- 
vision for  the  winter,  he  became  a  gleaner  of  wheat  in  the 
fields  of  his  more  provident  neighbors,  by  which  means  a 
sufficient  supply  was  secured  to  keep  himself  and  his  small 
family  in  food  until  another  spring. 

When  winter  set  in,  Meek  paid  a  visit  to  the  new  mis- 
sion. He  had  been  there  once  before,  in  the  spring,  to 
buy  an  axe.  Think,  0  reader,  of  traveling  fifty  or  more 
miles,  on  horseback,  or  in  a  small  boat,  to  procure  so  sim- 
ple and  necessary  an  article  of  civilized  life  as  an  axe ! 
But  none  of  the  every-day  conveniences  of  living  grow 
spontaneously  in  the  wilderness — more's  the  pity  : — else 
life  in  the  wilderness  would  be  thought  more  delightful 
far  than  life  in  the  most  luxurious  of  cities ;  inasmuch  as 
Nature  is  more  satisfying  than  art. 

Meek's  errand  to  the  mission  on  this  occasion  was  to 
find  whether  he  could  get  a  cow,  and  credit  at  the  same 
time :  for  the  prospect  of  living  for  another  winter  on 
boiled  wheat  was  not  a  cheerful  one.  He  had  not  suc- 
ceeded, and  was  returning,  when  at  Champoeg  he  met 
a  Mr.  Whitcom,  superintendent  of  the  mission  farm.  A 
conversation  took  place  wherein  Meek's  desire  for  a  cow 
became  known.  The  missionaries  never  lost  an  opportu- 
lity  of  proposing  prayers,  and  Mr.  Whitcom  thought  this 
good  one.  After  showing  much  interest  in  the  condi- 
tion of  Meek's  soul,  it  was  proposed  that- he  should  pray. 

"/can't  pray:  that's  your  business,  not  mine,"  said 
Meek  pleasantly. 


284  PRAYING    FOR    A    COW. 

"It  is  every  man's  business  to  pray  for  himself,"  an- 
swered Whitcom. 

"Very  well;  some  other  time  will  do  for  that.  What 
I  want  now  is  a  cow." 

"How  can  you  expect  to  get  what  you  want,  if  you 
wont  ask  for  it  ?"  inquired  Whitcom. 

"I  reckon  I  have  asked  you ;  and  I  don't  see  nary  cow 

yet." 

"You  must  ask  God,  my  friend:  but  in  the  first  place 
you  must  pray  to  be  forgiven  for  your  sins." 

"I'll  tell  you  what  I'll  do.  If  you  will  furnish  the  cow, 
I'll  agree  to  pray  for  half  an  hour,  right  here  on  the 
spot." 

"Down  on  your  knees  then." 

"You'll  furnish  the  cow?"  \ 

"Yes,"  said  Whitcom,  fairly  cornered. 

Down  on  his  knees  dropped  the  merry  reprobate,  and 
prayed  out  his  half  hour,  with  how  much  earnestness  only 
himself  and  God  knew. 

But  the  result  was  what  he  had  come  for,  a  cow ;  for 
Whitcom  was  as  good  as  his  word,  and  sent  him  home  re- 
joicing. And  thus,  with  what  he  had  earned  from  Wilkes, 
his  gleaned  wheat,  and  his  cow,  he  contrived  J»  gel 
through  another  winter. 

Perhaps  the  most  important  personal  event  which  dis- 
tinguished this  year  in  Meek's  history,  was  the  celebra- 
tion, according  to  the  rites  of  the  Christian  church,  of  his 
marriage  with  the  Nez  Perce  woman  who  had  already 
borne  him  two  children,  and  who  still  lives,  the  mother 
of  a  family  of  seven. 


CHAPTER    XXIY. 

1842.  By  the  opening  of  another  spring,  Meek  had 
so  far  overcome  his  distaste  for  farm  labor  as  to  put  in  a 
field  of  wheat  for  himself,  with  Doughty,  and  to  make 
some  arrangements  about  his  future  subsistence.  This 
done,  he  was  ready,  as  usual,  for  anything  in  the  way  of 
adventure  which  might  turn  up.  This  was,  however,  a 
very  quiet  summer  in  the  little  colony.  Important  events 
were  brooding,  but  as  yet  results  were  not  perceptible, 
except  to  the  mind  of  a  prophet.  The  Hudson's  Bay 
Company,  conformably  to  British  policy,  were  at  work 
to  turn  the  balance  of  power  in  Oregon  in  favor  of  Brit- 
ish occupation,  and,  unknown  even  to  the  colonists,  the 
United  States  Government  was  taking  what  measures  it 
could  to  shift  the  balance  in  its  own  favor.  Very  little 
was  said  about  the  subject  of  government  claims  among 
the  colonists,  but  a  feeling  of  suspense  oppressed  all 
parties. 

The  work  of  putting  in  wheat  and  improving  of  farms 
had  just  begun  to  slacken  a  little,  when  there  was  an  ar- 
rival in  the  Columbia  River  of  a  vessel  from  Boston — the 
Chenamus,  Captain  Couch.  The  Chenamus  brought  a 
cargo  of  goods,  which  were  placed  in  store  at  Wallamet 
Falls,  to  be  sold  to  the  settlers,  being  the  first  successful 
attempt  at  trade  ever  made  in  Oregon,  outside  of  the 
Hudson's  Bay  and  Methodist  Mission  stores. 

When  the  Fourth  of  July  came,  the    GJienamus  was 


286  THE    FOURTH    OF   JULY. 

lying  in  the  Wallamet,  below  the  Falls,  near  where  the 
present  city  of  Portland  stands.  Meek,  who  was  always 
first  to  be  at  any  spot  where  noise,  bustle,  or  excitement 
might  be  anticipated,  and  whose  fine  humor  and  fund  of 
anecdote  made  him  always  welcome,  had  borrowed  a  boat 
from  Capt.  Couch's  clerk,  at  the  Falls,  and  gone  down  to 
the  vessel  early  in  the  morning,  before  the  salute  for  the 
Glorious  Fourth  was  fired.  There  he  remained  all  day, 
enjoying  a  patriotic  swagger,  and  an  occasional  glass  of 
something  good  to  drink.  Other  visitors  came  aboard 
during  the  day,  which  was  duly  celebrated  to  the  satisfac- 
tion of  all. 

Towards  evening,  a  party  from  the  Mission,  wishing  to 
return  to  the  Falls,  took  possession  of  Meek's  borrowed 
boat  to  go  off  with.  Now  was  a  good  opportunity  to 
show  the  value  of  free  institutions.  Meek,  like  other 
mountain -men,  felt  the  distance  which  the  missionaries 
placed  between  him  and  themselves,  on  the  score  of  their 
moral  and  social  superiority,  and  resented  the  freedom 
with  which  they  appropriated  what  he  had  with  some 
trouble  secured  to  himself.  Intercepting  the  party  when 
more  than  half  of  them  were  seated  in  the  boat,  he  in- 
formed them  that  they  were  trespassing  upon  a  piece  of 
property  which  for  the  present  belonged  to  him,  and  for 
which  he  had  a  very  urgent  need.  Vexed  by  the  delay, 
and  by  having  to  relinquish  the  boat  to  a  man  who,  ac- 
cording to  their  view  of  the  case,  could  not  "read  his 
title  clear,"  to  anything  either  on  earth  or  in  heaven,  the 
missionaries  expostulated  somewhat  warmly,  but  Meek  in- 
sisted, 'and  so  compelled  them  to  wait  for  some  better 
opportunity  of  leaving  the  ship.  Then  loading  the  boat 
with  what  was  much  more  to  the  purpose — a  good  supply 
of  provisions,  Meek  proceeded  to  drink  the  Captain's 
health  in  a  very  ostentatious  manner,  and  take  his  leave. 


INDIAN    DISTURBANCES   IN    THE    UPPER    COUNTRY.         287 

In  the  meantime,  Dr.  Marcus  Whitman,  of  the  Waii- 
fatpn  Mission,  in  the  upper  country,  was  so  fearful  of  the 
intentions  of  the  British  government  that  he  set  out  for 
Washington  late  in  the  autumn  of  1842,  to  put  the  Sec- 
retary of  State  on  his  guard  concerning  the  boundary- 
question,  and  to  pray  that  it  might  be  settled  conformably 
with  the  wishes  of  the  Americans  in  Oregon. 

There  was  one  feature,  however,  of  this  otherwise 
rather  entertaining  race  for  possession,  which  was  becom- 
ing quite  alarming.  In  all  this  strife  about  claiming  the 
country,  the  Indian  claim  had  not  been  considered.  It 
has  been  already  intimated  that  the  attempt  to  civilize  or 
Christianize  the  Indians  of  western  Oregon  was  practically, 
an  entire  failure.  But  they  were  not  naturally  of  a  war- 
like disposition,  and  had  been  so  long  under  the  control 
of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  that  there  was  compara- 
tively little  to  apprehend  from  them,  even  though  they 
felt  some  discontent  at  the  incoming  immigration. 

But  with  the  Indians  of  the  upper  Columbia  it  was  dif- 
ferent ;  especially  so  with  the  tribes  among  whom  the 
Presbyterian  missionaries  were  settled — the  Walla- Wallas, 
Cayuses,  and  Nez  Perces,  three  brave  and  powerful  na- 
tions, much  united  by  intermarriages.  The  impression 
which  these  people  had  first  made  on  the  missionaries  was 
very  favorable,  their  evident  intelligence,  inquisitiveness, 
and  desire  for  religious  teachings  seeming  to  promise  a 
good  reward  of  missionary  labor.  Dr.  Whitman  and  his 
associates  had  been  diligent  in  their  efforts  to  civilize  and 
Christianize  them — to  induce  the  men  to  leave  off  their 
migratory  habits  and  learn  agriculture,  and  the  women  to 
learn  spinning,  sewing,  cooking,  and  all  the  most  essential 
arts  of  domestic  life.  At  the  first,  the  novelty  of  these 
new  pursuits  engaged  their  interest,  as  it  also  excited 
their  hope  of  gain.  But  the  task  of  keeping  them  to 
19 


288  DISCONTENT    OF    THE   INDIANS. 

their  work  with  sufficient  steadiness,  was  very  great. 
They  required,  like  children,  to  be  bribed  with  promises 
of  more  or  less  immediate  reward  of  their  exertions,  nor 
would  they  relinquish  the  fulfilment  of  a  promise,  even 
though  they  had  failed  to  perform  the  conditions  on  which 
the  promise  became  binding. 

By-and-by  they  made  the  discovery  that  neither  the 
missionaries  could,  nor  the  white  man's  God  did,  confer 
upon  them  what  they  desired— the  enjoyment  of  all  the 
blessings  of  the  white  men — and  that  if  they  wished  to 
enjoy  these  blessings,  they  must  labor  to  obtain  them. 
This  discovery  was  very  discouraging,  inasmuch  as  the 
Indian  nature  is  decidedly  averse  to  steady  labor,  and 
they  could  perceive  that  very  little  was  to  be  expected 
from  any  progress  which  could  be  achieved  in  one  gen- 
eration. As  for  the  Christian  faith,  they  understood  about 
as  much  of  its  true  spirit  as  savages,  with  the  law  of 
blood  written  in  their  hearts,  could  be  expected  to  under- 
stand. They  looked  for  nothing  more  nor  less  than  the 
literal  fulfilment  of  the  Bible  promises — nothing  less 
would  content  them ;  and  as  to  the  forms  of  their  new 
religion,  they  liked  them  well  enough — liked  singing  and 
praying,  and  certain  orderly  observances,  the  chiefs  lead- 
ing in  these  as  in  other  matters.  So  much  interest  did 
they  discover  at  first,  that  their  teachers  were  deceived 
as  to  the  actual  extent  of  the  good  they  were  doing. 

As  time  went  on,  however,  there  began  to  be  cause  for 
mutual  dissatisfaction.  The  Indians  became  aware  that 
no  matter  how  many  concessions  their  teachers  made  to 
them,  they  were  still  the  inferiors  of  the  whites,  and  that 
they  must  ever  remain  so.  But  the  thought  which  pro- 
duced the  deepest  chagrin  was,  that  they  had  got  these 
white  people  settled  amongst  them  by  their  own  invita- 
tion and  aid,  and  that  now  it  was  evident  they  were  not 


MISSION    STATIONS    OF    THE    UPPER    COUNTRY.  289 

to  be  benefited  as  had  been  hoped,  as  the  whites  were 
turning  their  attention  to  benefiting  themselves. 

As  early  as  1839,  Mr.  Smith,  an  associate  of  Mr.  Spald- 
ing in  the  country  of  the  Nez  Perces,  was  forbidden  by 
the  high  chief  of  the  Nez  Perces  to  cultivate  the  ground. 
He  had  been  permitted  to  build,  but  was  assured  that  if  he 
broke  the  soil  for  the  purpose  of  farming  it,  the  ground 
so  broken  should  serve  to  bury  him  in.  Still  Smith  went 
on  in  the  spring  to  prepare  for  ploughing,  and  the  chief 
seeing  him  ready  to  begin,  inquired  if  he  recollected  that 
he  had  been  forbidden.  Yet  persisting  in  his  undertaking, 
several  of  the  Indians  came  to  him  and  taking  him  by  the 
shoulder  asked  him  again  "if  he  did  not  know  that  the  hole 
he  should  make  in  the  earth  would  be  made  to  serve  for 
his  grave."  Upon  which  third  warning  Smith  left  off,  and 
quitted  the  country.  Other  missionaries  also  left  for  the 
Wallamet  Valley. 

In  1842  there  were  three  mission  stations  in  the  upper 
country ;  that  of  Dr.  Whitman  at  Waiilatpu  on  the  Walla- 
Walla  River,  that  of  Mr.  Spalding  on  the  Clearwater  River, 
called  Lapwai,  and  another  on  the  Spokane  River,  called 
Cimakain.  These  missions  were  from  one  hundred  and 
twenty  to  three  hundred  miles  distant  from  each  other, 
and  numbered  altogether  only  about  one  dozen  whites  of 
both  sexes.  At  each  of  these  stations  there  was  a  small 
body  of  land  under  cultivation,  a  few  cattle  and  hogs,  a 
flouring  and  saw  mill,  and  blacksmith  shop,  and  such  im- 
provements as  the  needs  of  the  mission  demanded.  The 
Indians  also  cultivated,  under  the  direction  of  their  teach- 
ers, some  little  patches  of  ground,  generally  but  a  small 
garden  spot,  and  the  fact  that  they  did  even  so  much  was 
very  creditable  to  those  who  labored  to  instruct  them. 
There  was  no  want  of  ardor  or  industry  in  the  Presbyterian 


290         THE  MISSIONARIES  INSULTED  AND   THREATENED. 

mission ;  on  the  contrary  they  applied  themselves  conscien- 
tiously to  the  work  they  had  undertaken. 

But  this  conscientious  discharge  of  duty  did  not  give 
them  immunity  from  outrage.  Both  Mr.  Spalding  and  Dr. 
Whitman  had  been  rudely  handled  by  the  Indians,  had 
been  struck  and  spat  upon,  and  had  nose  and  ears  pulled. 
Even  the  delicate  and  devoted  Mrs.  Spalding  had  been 
grossly  insulted.  Later  the  Cayuses  had  assailed  Dr.  Whit- 
man in  his  house  with  war-clubs,  and  broken  down  doors 
of  communication  between  the  private  apartments  and  the 
public  sitting  room.  Explanations  and  promises  generally 
followed  these  acts  of  outrage,  yet  it  would  seem  that  the 
missionaries  should  have  been  warned. 

Taking  advantage  of  Dr.  Whitman's  absence,  the  Cayuses 
had  frightened  Mrs.  Whitman  from  her  home  to  the  Meth- 
odist mission  at  the  Dalles,  by  breaking  into  her  bed-cham- 
ber at  night,  with  an  infamous  design  from  which  she 
barely  escaped,  and  by  subsequently  burning  down  the 
mill  and  destroying  a  considerable  quantity  of  grain. 
About  the  same  time  the  Nez  Perces  at  the  Lapwai  mission 
were  very  insolent,  and  had  threatened  Mr.  Spalding's  life ; 
all  of  which,  one  would  say,  was  but  a  poor  return  for  the 
care  and  instruction  bestowed  upon  them  during  six  years 
of  patient  .effort  on  the  part  of  their  teachers.  Poor  as  it 
was,  the  Indians  did  not  see  it  in  that  light,  but  only 
thought  of  the  danger  which  threatened  them,  in  the  possi- 
ble loss  of  their  country. 


CHAPTER    XXV. 

1842-3.  The  plot  thickened  that  winter,  in  the  little 
drama  being  enacted  west  of  the  Rocky  Mountains. 

The  forests  which  clad  the  mountains  and  foot-hills  in 
perpetual  verdure,  and  the  thickets  which  skirted  the  nu- 
merous streams  flowing  into  the  Wallamet,  all  abounded 
in  wild  animals,  whose  depredations  upon  the  domestic 
cattle,  lately  introduced  into  the  country,  were  a  serious 
drawback  to  their  natural  increase.  Not  a  settler,  owning 
cattle  or  hogs,  but  had  been  robbed  more  or  less  fre- 
quently by  the  wolves,  bears,  and  panthers,  which  prowled 
unhindered  in  the  vicinity  of  their  herds. 

This  was  a  ground  of  common  interest  to  all  settlers  of 
whatever  allegiance.  Accordingly,  a  notice  was  issued 
that  a  meeting  would  be  held  at  a  certain  time  and  place, 
to  consider  the  best  means  of  preventing  the  destruction 
of  stock  in  the  country,  and  all  persons  interested  were 
invited  to  attend.  This  meeting  was  held  on  the  2d  of 
February,  1843,  and  was  well  attended  by  both  classes  of 
colonists.  It  served,  however,  only  as  a  preliminary  step 
to  the  regular  "Wolf  Association"  meeting  which  took 
place  a  month  later.  At  the  meeting,  on  the  4th  of  March, 
there  was  a  full  attendance,  and  the  utmost  harmony  pre- 
vailed, notwithstanding  there  was  a  well-defined  suspicion 
in  the  minds  of  the  Canadians,  that  they  were  going  to  be 
called  upon  to  furnish  protection  to  something  more  than 
the  cattle  and  hogs  of  the  settlers. 


292  THE    WOLF    ASSOCIATION. 

After  the  proper  parliamentary  forms,  and  the  choosing 
of  the  necessary  officers  for  the  Association,  the  meeting 
proceeded  to  fix  the  rate  of  bounty  for  each  animal  killed 
by  any  one  out  of  the  Association,  viz:  $3.00  for  a  large 
wolf;  $1.50  for  a  lynx;  $2.00  for  a  bear;  and  $5.00  for 
a  panther.  The  money  to  pay  these  bounties  was  to  be 
raised  by  subscription,  and  handed  over  to  the  treasurer 
for  disbursement ;  the  currency  being  drafts  ou  Fort  Van- 
couver, the  Mission,  and  the  Milling  Company;  besides 
wheat  and  other  commodities. 

This  business  being  arranged,  the  real  object  of  the 
meeting  was  announced  in  this  wise : 

"  Resolved, — That  a  committee  be  appointed  to  take  into 
consideration  the  propriety  of  taking  measures  for  the 
civil  and  military  protection  of  this  colony." 

A  committee  of  twelve  were  then  selected,  and  the 
meeting  adjourned.  But  in  that  committee  there  was  a 
most  subtle  mingling  of  all  the  elements — missionaries, 
mountain-men,  and  Canadians — an  attempt  by  an  offer  of 
the  honors,  to  fuse  into  one  all  the  several  divisions  of  po- 
litical sentiment  in  Oregon. 

On  the  2d  day  of  May,  1843,  the  committee  appointed 
March  4th  to  "take  into  consideration  the  propriety  of  tak- 
ing measures  for  the  civil  and  military  protection  of  the 
colony,"  met  at  Champoeg,  the  Canadian  settlement,  and 
presented  to  the  people  their  ultimatum  in  favor  of  organ- 
izing a  provisional  government. 

On  a  motion  being  made  that  the  report  of  the  commit- 
tee should  be  accepted,  it  was  put  to  vote,  and  lost  All 
was  now  confusion,  various  expressions  of  disappointment 
or  gratification  being  mingled  in  one  tempest  of  sound. 

When  the  confusion  had  somewhat  subsided,  Mr.  G.  W. 
LeBreton  made  a  motion  that  the  meeting  should  divide ; 
those  who  were  in  favor  of  an  organization  taking  their 


REPORT  ACCEPTED THE  DIE  CAST.         293 

positions  on  the  right  hand ;  and  those  opposed  to  it  on 
the  left,  marching  into  file.  The  proposition  carried ;  and 
Joe  Meek,  who,  in  all  this  historical  reminiscence  we  have 
almost  lost  sight  of — though  he  had  not  lost  sight  of 
events — stepped  to  the  front,  with  a  characteristic  air  of 
the  free-born  American  in  his  gait  and  gestures: — 

"  Who's  for  a  divide !  All  in  favor  of  the  Report,  and 
an  Organization,  follow  me!" — then  marched  at  the  head 
of  his  column,  which  speedily  fell  into  line,  as  did  also  the 
opposite  party. 

On  counting,  fifty-two  were  found-  to  be  on  the  right 
hand  side,  and  fifty  on  the  left, — so  evenly  were  the 
two  parties  balanced  at  that  time.  When  the  result  was 
made  known,  once  more  Meek's  voice  rang  out — 

"Three  cheers  for  our  side!" 

It  did  not  need  a  second  invitation ;  but  loud  and  long 
the  shout  went  up  for  Freedom  ;  and  loudest  and  longest 
were  heard  the  voices  of  the  American  "mountain-men." 
Thus  the  die  was  cast  which  made  Oregon  ultimately  a 
member  of  the  Federal  Union. 

The  business  of  the  meeting  was  concluded  by  the  elec- 
tion of  a  Supreme  Judge,  with  probate  powers,  a  clerk 
of  the  court,  a  sheriff,  four  magistrates,  four  constables, 
a  treasurer,  a  mayor,  and  a  captain, — the  two  latter  offi- 
cers being  instructed  to  form  companies  of  mounted  rifle- 
men. In  addition  to  these  officers,  a  legislative  committee 
was  chosen,  consisting  of  nine  members,  who  were  to  re- 
port to  the  people  at  a  public  meeting  to  be  held  at  Cham- 
poeg  on  the  5th  of  July  following.  Of  the  legislative 
committee,  two  were  mountain-men,  with  whose  names  the 
reader  is  familiar — Newell  and  Doughty.  Among  the 
other  appointments,  was  Meek,  to  the  office  of  sheriff;  a 
position  for  which  his  personal  qualities  of  courage  and 
good  humor  admirably  fitted  him  in  the  then  existing  state 
of  society. 


CHAPTER     XXVI. 

The  immigration  into  Oregon  of  the  year  1843,  was 
the  first  since  Newell  and  Meek,  who  had  brought  wagons 
through  to  the  Columbia  River ;  and  in  all  numbered 
nearly  nine  hundred  men,  women,  and  children.  These 
immigrants  were  mostly  from  Missouri  and  other  border 
States.  They  had  been  assisted  on  their  long  and  peril- 
ous journey  by  Dr.  Whitman,  whose  knowledge  of  the 
route,  and  the  requirements  of  the  undertaking,  made  him 
an  invaluable  counselor,  as  he  was  an  untiring  friend  of 
the  immigrants. 

At  the  Dalles  of  the  Columbia  the  wagons  were  aban- 
doned ;  it  being  too  late  in  the  season,  and  the  wants  of 
the  immigrants  too  pressing,  to  admit  of  an  effort  being 
made  to  cut  out  a  wagon  road  through  the  heavy  timber 
of  the  Cascade  mountains.  Already  a  trail  had  been  made 
over  them  and  around  the  base  of  Mount  Hood,  by  which 
cattle  could  be  driven  from  the  Dalles  to  the  settlements 
on  the  Wallamet ;  and  by  this  route  the  cattle  belonging  to 
the  train,  amounting  to  thirteen  hundred,  were  passed 
over  into  the  valley. 

But  for  the  people,  especially  the  women  and  children, 
active  and  efficient  help  was  demanded.  There  was  some- 
thing truly  touching  and  pitiable  in  the  appearance  of  these 
hundreds  of  worn-out,  ragged,  sun-burnt,  dusty,  emaciated, 
yet  indomitable  pioneers,  who,  after  a  journey  of  nearly 
two  thousand  miles,  and  of  several  months  duration,  over 


PITIABLE    CONDITION    OF    THE    WOMEN    AND    CHILDREN.       295 

fertile  plains,  barren  deserts,  and  rugged  mountains,  stood 
at  last  beside  the  grand  and  beautiful  river  of  their  hopes, 
exhausted  by  the  toils  of  their  pilgrimage,  dejected  and 
yet  rejoicing. 

Much  they  would  have  liked  to  rest,  even  here ;  but 
their  poverty  admitted  of  no  delay.  The  friends  to 
whom  they  were  going,  and  from  whom  they  must  exact 
and  receive  a  temporary  hospitality,  were  still  separated 
from  them  a  weary  and  dangerous  way.  They  delayed  as 
little  as  possible,  yet  the  fall  rains  came  upon  them,  and 
snow  fell  in  the  mountains,  so  as  seriously  to  impede  the 
labor  of  driving  the  cattle,  and  hunger  and  sickness  began 
to  affright  them. 

In  this  unhappy  situation  they  might  have  remained  a 
long  time,  had  there  been  no  better  dependence  than  the 
American  settlers  already  in  the  valley,  with  the  Metho- 
dist Mission  at  their  head ;  for  from  them  it  does  not  ap- 
pear that  aid  came,  nor  that  any  provision  had  been  made 
by  them  to  assist  the  expected  immigrants.  As  usual  in 
these  crises,  it  was  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  who  came 
to  the  rescue,  and,  by  the  offer  of  boats,  made  it  possible 
for  those  families  to  reach  the  Wallamet.  Not  only  were 
the  Hudson's  Bay  Company's  boats  all  required,  but  canoes 
and  rafts  were  called  into  requisition  to  transport  passen- 
gers and  goods.  No  one,  never  having  made  the  voyage 
of  the  Columbia  from  above  the  Dalles  to  Vancouver, 
could  have  an  adequate  idea  of  the  perils  of  the  passage, 
as  it  was  performed  in  those  days,  by  small  boats  and  the 
flat-bottomed  "Mackinaw"  boats  of  the  Hudson's  Bay 
Company.  The  Canadian  "voyageurs,"  who  handled  a 
boat  as  a  good  rider  governs  a  horse,  were  not  always 
able  to  make  the  passage  without  accident :  how,  then, 
could  the  clumsy  landsmen,  who  were  more  used  to  the 
feel  of  a  plow  handle  than  an  oar,  be  expected  to  do  so  ? 


296  PERILS  OF  THE  COLUMBIA. 

Numerous  have  been  the  victims  suddenly  clutched  from 
life  by  the  grasp  of  the  whirlpools,  or  dashed  to  death 
among  the  fearful  rapids  of  the  beautiful,  but  wild  and 
pitiless,  Columbia. 

The  immigration  of  1843  did  not  escape  without  loss 
and  bereavement.  Three  brothers  from  Missouri,  by  the 
name  of  Applegate,  with  their  families,  were  descending 
the  river  together,  when,  by  the  striking  of  a  boat  on  a 
rock  in  the  rapids,  a  number  of  passengers,  mostly  child- 
ren of  these  gentlemen,  were  precipitated  into  the  fright- 
ful current.  The  brothers  each  had  a  son  in  this  boat, 
one  of  whom  was  lost,  another  injured  for  life,  and  the 
third  escaped  as  by  a  miracle.  This  last  boy  was  only 
ten  years  of  age,  yet  such  was  the  presence  of  mind  and 
courage  displayed  in  saving  his  own  and  a  companion's 
life,  that  the  miracle  of  his  escape  might  be  said  to  be  his 
own.  Being  a  good  swimmer,  he  kept  himself  valiantly 
above  the  surface,  while  being  tossed  about  for  nearly  two 
miles.  Succeeding  at  last  in  grasping  a  feather  bed  which 
was  floating  near  him,  he  might  have  passed  the  remain- 
ing rapids  without  serious  danger,  had  he  not  been  seized, 
as  it  were,  by  the  feet,  and  drawn  down,  down,  into  a 
seething,  turning,  roaring  abyss  of  water,  where  he  was 
held,  whirling  about,  and  dancing  up  and  down,  striking 
now  and  then  upon  the  rocks,  until  death  seemed  not 
only  imminent  but  certain.  After  enduring  this  violent 
whirling  and  dashing  for  what  seemed  a  hopelessly  long 
period  of  time,  he  was  suddenly  vomited  forth  by  the 
whirlpool  once  more  upon  the  surface  of  the  rapids,  and, 
notwithstanding  the  bruises  he  had  received,  was  able,  by 
great  exertion,  to  throw  himself  near,  and  seize  upon  a 
ledge  of  rocks.  To  this  he  clung  with  desperation,  until, 
by  dint  of  much  effort,  he  finally  drew  himself  out  of  the 
water,  and  stretched  himself  on  the  narrow  shelf,  where, 


WONDERFUL    ESCAPE    OF    YOUNG   APPLEGATE.  297 

for  a  moment,  he  swooned  away.  But  on  opening  his 
eyes,  he  beheld,  struggling  in  the  foaming  flood,  a  young 
man  who  had  been  a  passenger  in  the  wrecked  boat  with 
himself,  and  who,  though  older,  was  not  so  good  a  swim- 
mer. Calling  to  him  with  all  his  might,  to  make  his  voice 
heard  above  the  roar  of  the  rapids,  he  at  last  gained  his 
attention,  and  encouraged  him  to  try  to  reach  the  ledge 
of  rocks,  where  he  would  assist  him  to  climb  up  ;  and  the 
almost  impossible  feat  was  really  accomplished  by  their 
united  efforts.  This  done,  young  Applegate  sank  again 
into  momentary  unconsciousness,  while  poor  exhausted 
Nature  recruited  her  forces. 

But,  although  they  were  saved  from  immediate  destruc- 
tion, death  still  stared  them  in  the  face.  That  side  of  the 
river  on  which  they  had  found  lodgment,  was  bounded 
by  precipitous  mountains,  coming  directly  down  to  the 
water.  They  could  neither  ascend  nor  skirt  along  them, 
for  foot-hold  there  was  none.  On  the  other  side  was  level 
ground,  but  to  reach  it  they  must  pass  through  the  rapids 
— an  alternative  that  looked  like  an  assurance  of  destruc- 
tion. 

In  this  extremity,  it  was  the  boy  who  resolved  to  risk 
his  life  to  save  it.  Seeing  that  a  broken  ledge  of  rock 
extended  nearly  across  the  river  from  a  point  within  his 
reach,  but  only  coming  to  the  surface  here  and  there,  and 
of  course  very  slippery,  he  nevertheless  determined  to  at- 
tempt to  cross  on  foot,  amidst  the  roaring  rapids.  Starting 
alone  to  make  the  experiment,  he  actually  made  the  cross- 
ing in  safety,  amid  the  thundering  roar  and  dizzying  rush 
of  waters — not  only  made  it  once,  but  returned  to  assure 
his  companion  of  its  practicability.  The  young  man,  how- 
ever, had  not  the  courage  to  undertake  it,  until  he  had 
repeatedly  been  urged  to  do  so,  and  at  last  only  by  being 
pursuaded  to  go  before,  while  his  younger  comrade  fol- 


298  TRIALS    OF    THE    NEW    COLONISTS. 

lowed  after,  not  to  lose  sight  of  him,  (for  it  was  impos- 
sible to  turn  around,)  and  directed  him  where  to  place 
his  steps.  In  this  manner  that  which  appears  incredible 
was  accomplished,  and  the  two  arrived  in  safety  on  the 
opposite  side,  where  they  were  ultimately  discovered  by 
their  distressed  relatives,  who  had  believed  them  to  be 
lost.  Such  was  the  battle  which  young  Applegate  had 
with  the  rocks,  that  the  flesh  was  torn  from  the  palms  of 
his  hands,  and  his  whole  body  bruised  and  lacerated. 

So  it  was  with  sorrow,  after  all,  that  the  immigrants 
arrived  in  the  valley.  Nor  were  their  trials  over  when 
they  had  arrived.  The  worst  feature  about  this  long  and 
exhausting  journey  was,  that  it  could  not  be  accomplished 
so  as  to  allow  time  for  recruiting  the  strength  of  the  trav- 
elers, and  providing  them  with  shelter  before  the  rainy 
season  set  in.  Either  the  new  arrivals  must  camp  out  in 
the  weather  until  a  log  house  was  thrown  up,  or  they 
must,  if  they  were  invited,  crowd  into  the  small  cabins 
of  the  settlers  until  there  was  scarce  standing  room,  and 
thus  live  for  months  in  an  atmosphere  which  would  have 
bred  pestilence  in  any  other  less  healthful  climate. 

Not  only  was  the  question  of  domiciles  a  trying  one, 
but  that  of  food  still  more  so.  Some,  who  had  families 
of  boys  to  help  in  the  rough  labor  of  building,  soon  be- 
came settled  in  houses  of  their  own,  more  or  less  com- 
fortable ;  nor  was  anything  very  commodious  required 
for  the  frontiers-men  from  Missouri ;  but  in  the  matter  of 
something  to  eat,  the  more  boys  there  were  in  the  family, 
the  more  hopeless  the  situation.  They  had  scarcely  man- 
aged to  bring  with  them  provisions  for  their  summer's 
journey — it  was  not  possible  to  bring  more.  In  the 
colony  was  food,  but  they  had  no  money — few  of  them 
had  much,  at  least ;  they  had  not  goods  to  exchange ; 
labor  was  not  in  demand :    in  short,  the  first  winter  in 


THE    GENEROUS    SAVAGE.  29£ 

Oregon  was,  to  nearly  all  the  new  colonists,  a  time  of 
trial,  if  not  of  actual  suffering.  Many  families  now  occu- 
pying positions  of  eminence  on  the  Pacific  coast,  knew 
what  it  was,  in  those  early  days,  to  feel  the  pangs  of 
hunger,  and  to  want  for  a  sufficient  covering  for  their 
nakedness. 

Two  anecdotes  of  this  kind  come  to  the  writer's  mem- 
ory, as  related  by  the  parties  themselves :  the  Indians, 
who  are  everywhere  a  begging  race,  were  in  the  habit  of 
visiting  the  houses  of  the  settlers  and  demanding  food. 
On  one  occasion,  one  of  them  came  to  the  house  of  a  now 
prominent  citizen  of  Oregon,  as  usual  petitioning  for  some- 
thing to  eat.  The  lady  of  the  house,  and  mother  of  sev- 
eral young  children,  replied  that  she  had  nothing  to  give. 
Not  liking  to  believe  her,  the  Indian  persisted  in  his  de- 
mand, when  the  lady  pointed  to  her  little  children  and 
said,  "Go  away;  I  have  nothing — not  even  for  those." 
The  savage  turned  on  his  heel  and  strode  quickly  away, 
as  the  lady  thought,  offended.  In  a  short  time  he  reap- 
peared with  a  sack  of  dried  venison,  which  he  laid  at  her 
feet.  "  Take  that,"  he  said,  M  and  give  the  tenas  tillicum 
(little  children)  something  to  eat."  From  that  day,  as 
long  as  he  lived,  that  humane  savage  was  a  "  friend  of  the 
family. 

The  other  anecdote  concerns  a  gentleman  who  was 
chief  justice  of  Oregon  under  the  provisional  govern- 
ment, afterwards  governor  of  California,  and  at  present  a 
banker  in  San  Francisco.  He  lived,  at  the  time  spoken 
of,  on  the  Tualatin  Plains,  and  was  a  neighbor  of  Joe 
Meek.  Not  having  a  house  to  go  into  at  first,  he  was  per' 
mitted  to  settle  his  family  in  the  district  school-house, 
with  the  understanding  that  on  certain  days  of  the  month 
he  was  to  allow  religious  services  to  be  held  in  the  build- 
ing.    In  this  he  assented.     Meeting  day  came,  and  the 


300  THE    BARE-FOOTED    LAWYER. 

family  put  on  their  best  apparel  to  make  themselves  tidy 
in  the  eyes  of  their  neighbors.     Only  one  difficulty  was 

hard  to  get  over :  Mr. had  only  one  shoe,  the  other 

foot  was  bare.  But  he  considered  the  matter  for  some 
time,  and  then  resolved  that  he  might  take  a  sheltered 
position  behind  the  teacher's  desk,  where  his  deficiency 
would  be  hidden,  and  when  the  house  filled  up,  as  it 
would  do  very  rapidly,  he  could  not  be  expected  to  stir 
for  want  of  space.  However,  that  happened  to  the  ambi- 
tious young  lawyer  which  often  does  happen  to  the  "  best 
laid  schemes  of  mice  and  men" — his  went  "all  aglee." 
In  the  midst  of  the  services,  the  speaker  needed  a  cup  of 

water,  and  requested  Mr. to  furnish  it.     There  was 

no  refusing  so  reasonable  a  request.  Out  before  all  the 
congregation,  walked  the  abashed  and  blushing  pioneer, 
with  his  ill-matched  feet  exposed  to  view.  This  mortify- 
ing exposure  was  not  without  an  agreeable  result ;  for 
next  day  he  received  a  present  of  a  pair  of  moccasins, 
and  was  enabled  thereafter  to  appear  with  feet  that  bore 
a  brotherly  resemblance  to  each  other. 

About  this  time,  the  same  gentleman,  who  was,  as  has 
been  said,  a  neighbor  of  Meek's,  was  going  to  Wallamet 
Falls  with  a  wagon,  and  Meek  was  going  along.  "  Take 
something  to  eat,"  said  he  to  Meek,  "for  I  have  nothing;" 
and  Meek  promised  that  he  would. 

Accordingly  when  it  came  time  to  camp  for  the  night, 
Meek  was  requested  to  produce  his  lunch  basket.  Going 
to  the  wagon,  Meek  unfolded  an  immense  pumpkin,  and 
brought  it  to  the  fire. 

"  What !"  exclaimed  Mr. ,  "  is  that  all  we  have  for 

supper  ?" 

"  Roast  pumpkin  is  not  so  bad,"  said  Meek, .  laughing 
back  at  him ;  "  IVe  had  worse  fare  in  the  mountains. 
It's  buffalo  tongue  compared  to  ants  or  moccasin  soles." 


SHOPPING    UNDER    DIFFICULTIES.  301 

And  so  with  much  merriment  they  proceeded  to  cut  up 
their  pumpkin  and  roast  it,  finding  it  as  Meek  had  said — 
"  not  so  bad "  when  there  was  no  better. 

These  anecdotes  illustrate  what  a  volume  could  only  de- 
scribe— the  perils  and  privations  endured  by  the  colonists 
in  Oregon.  If  we  add  that  there  were  only  two  flouring 
mills  in  the  Wallamet  Valley,  and  these  two  not  conven- 
ient for  most  of  the  settlers,  both  belonging  to  the  mis- 
sion, and  that  to  get  a  few  bushels  of  wheat  ground  in- 
volved the  taking  of  a  journey  of  from  four  to  six  days, 
for  many,  and  that,  too,  over  half-broken  roads,  destitute 
of  bridges,  it  will  be  seen  how  difficult  it  was  to  obtain 
the  commonest  comforts  of  life.  As  for  such  luxuries  as 
groceries  and  clothing,  they  had  to  wait  for  better  times. 
Lucky  was  the  man  who,  "  by  hook  or  by  crook,"  got 
hold  of  an  order  on  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company,  the 
Methodist  Mission,  or  the  Milling  Company  at  the  Falls. 
Were  he  thus  fortunate,  he  had  much  ado  to  decide  how 
to  make  it  go  farthest,  and  obtain  the  most.  Not  far 
would  it  go,  at  the  best,  for  fifty  per  cent,  profit  on  all 
sales  was  what  was  demanded  and  obtained.  Perhaps  the 
holder  of  a  ten  dollar  draft  made  out  his  list  of  necessa- 
ries, and  presented  himself  at  the  store,  expecting  to  get 
them.  He  wanted  some  unbleached  cotton,  to  be  dyed  to 
make  dresses  for  the  children ;  he  would  buy  a  pair  of 
calf-skin  shoes  if  he  could  afford  them ;  and — yes — he 
would  indulge  in  the  luxury  of  a  little — a  very  little — 
sugar,  just  for  that  once  ! 

Arrived  at  the  store  after  a  long,  jolting  journey,  in 
the  farm  wagon  which  had  crossed  the  continent  the  year 
before,  he  makes  his  inquiries :  "  Cotton  goods  ?"  "  No  ; 
just  out."  "Shoes?"  "Got  one  pair,  rather  small — 
wouldn't  fit  you."  "  What  have  you  got  in  the  way  of 
goods  ?"     "  Got  a  lot  of  silk  handkerchiefs  and  twelve 


302  EDUCATION   AND   LITERARY   SOCIETIES. 

dozen  straw  hats."  " Any  pins ?"  "No;  a  few  knitting 
needles."  "Any  yarn?"  "Yes,  there's  a  pretty  good 
lot  of  yarn  ;  but  don't  you  want  some  sugar  ?  the  last 
ship  that  was  in  left  a  quantity  of  sugar."  So  the  holder 
of  the  draft  exchanges  it  for  some  yarn  and  a  few  nails, 
and  takes  the  balance  in  sugar :  fairly  compelled  to  be 
luxurious  in  one  article,  for  the  reason  that  others  were 
not  to  be  had  till  some  other  ship  came  in. 

No  mails  reached  the  colony,  and  no  letters  left  it,  ex- 
cept such  as  were  carried  by  private  hand,  or  were  sent 
once  a  year  in  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company's  express  to 
Canada,  and  thence  to  the  States.  Newspapers  arrived 
in  the  same  manner,  or  by  vessel  from  the  Sandwich 
Islands.  Notwithstanding  all  these  drawbacks,  education 
was  encouraged  even  from  the  very  beginning  ;  a  library 
was  started,  and  literary  societies  formed,  and  this  all  the 
more,  perhaps,  that  the  colony  was  so  isolated  and  depend- 
ent on  itself  for  intellectual  pleasures. 

The  spring  of  1844  saw  the  colony  in  a  state  of  some  ex- 
citement on  account  of  an  attempt  to  introduce  the  manu- 
facture of  ardent  spirits.  This  dangerous  article  had  al- 
ways been  carefully  excluded  from  the  country,  first  by 
the  Hudson's  Bay  Company,  and  secondly  by  the  Meth- 
odist Mission ;  and  since  the  time  when  a  Mr.  Young 
had  been  induced  to  relinquish  its  manufacture,  no  seri- 
ous effort  had  been  made  to  introduce  it. 

It  does  not  appear  from  the  Oregon  archives,  that  any 
law  against  its  manufacture  existed  at  that  time  :  it  had 
probably  been  overlooked  in  the  proceedings  of  the  leg- 
islative committee  of  the  previous  summer ;  neither  was 
there  yet  any  executive  head  to  the  Provisional  Govern- 
ment, the  election  not  having  taken  place.  In  this  di- 
lemma the  people  found  themselves  in  the  month  of  Feb- 


A    DILEMMA MEEK    DESTROYS    THE    DISTILLERY.  303 

ruary,  when  one  James  Conner  had  been  discovered  to  be 
erecting  a  distillery  at  the  Falls  of  the  Wallaniet. 

It  happened,  however,  that  an  occasion  for  the  exer- 
cise of  executive  power  had  occurred  before  the  election 
of  the  executive  committee,  and  now  what  was  to  be 
done?  It  was  a  case  too,  which  required  absolute  power, 
for  there  was  no  law  on  the  subject  of  distilleries.  After 
some  deliberation  it  was  decided  to  allow  the  Indian  agent 
temporary  power,  and  several  letters  were  addressed  to 
him,  informing  him  of  the  calamity  which  threatened  the 
community  at  the  Falls.  "  Now,  we  believe  that  if  there 
is  anything  which  calls  your  attention  in  your  official  ca- 
pacity, or  anything  in  which  you  would  be  most  cordially 
supported  by  the  good  sense  and  prompt  action  of  the 
better  part  of  community,  it  is  the  present  case.  We  do 
not  wish  to  dictate,  but  we  hope  for  the  best,  begging 
pardon  for  intrusions."  So  read  the  closing  paragraph 
of  one  of  the  letters. 

Perhaps  this  humble  petition  touched  the  Doctor's  heart ; 
perhaps  he  saw  in  the  circumstance  a  possible  means  of 
acquiring  influence ;  at  all  events  he  hastened  to  the  Falls, 
a  distance  of  fifty  miles,  and  entered  at  once  upon  the  dis- 
charge of  the  executive  duties  thus  thrust  upon  him  in 
the  hour  of  danger.  Calling  upon  Meek,  who  had  entered 
upon  his  duties  as  sheriff  the  previous  summer,  he  gave 
him  his  orders.  Writ  in  hand,  Meek  proceeded  to  the 
distillery,  frightened  the  poor  sinner  into  quiet  submission 
with  a  display  of  his  mountain  manners ;  made  a  bugle  of 
the  worm,  and  blew  it,  to  announce  to  the  Doctor  his  com- 
plete success ;  after  which  he  tumbled  the  distillery  appa- 
ratus into  the  river,  and  retired.  Connor  was  put  under 
three  hundred  dollar  bonds,  and  so  the  case  ended. 

But  there  were  other  occasions  on  which  the  Doctor's 
20 


304        ANECDOTE    OF    DR.    WHITE   AND    MADAM    COOPER. 

authority  was  put  in  requisition.  It  happened  that  a  ves- 
sel from  Australia  had  been  in  the  river,  and  left  one  Mad- 
am Cooper,  who  was  said  to  have  brought  with  her  a  bar- 
rel of  whisky.  Her  cabin  stood  on  the  east  bank  of  the 
Wallamet,  opposite  the  present  city  ot  Portland.  Not 
thinking  it  necessary  to  send  the  sheriff  to  deal  with  a 
woman,  the  Doctor  went  in  person,  accompanied  by  a 
couple  of  men.  Entering  the  cabin  the  Doctor  remarked 
blandly,  "  you  have  a  barrel  of  whisky,  I  believe." 

Not  knowing  but  her  visitor's  intention  was  to  purchase, 
and  not  having  previously  resided  in  a  strictly  temperance 
community,  Madam  Cooper  replied  frankly  that  she  had, 
and  pointed  to  the  barrel  in  question. 

The  Doctor  then  stepped  forward,  and  placing  his  foot 
on  it,  said:  "In  the  name  of  the  United  States,  I  levy 
execution  on  it!" 

At  this  unexpected  declaration,  the  English  woman 
stared  wildly  one  moment,  then  recovering  herself  quickly, 
seized  the  poker  from  the  chimney  corner,  and  raising  it 
over  the  Doctor's  head,  exclaimed — "In  the  name  of 
Great  Britain,  Ireland,  and  Scotland,  I  levy  execution  on 
you!" 

But  when  the  stick  descended,  the  Doctor  was  not  there. 
He  had  backed  out  at  the  cabin  door ;  nor  did  he  after- 
wards attempt  to  interfere  with  a  subject  of  the  crown  of 
Great  Britain. 

On  the  following  day,  however,  the  story  having  got 
afloat  at  the  Falls,  Meek  and  a  young  man  highly  esteem- 
ed at  the  mission,  by  the  name  of  Le  Breton,  set  out  to 
pay  their  respects  to  Madam  Cooper.  Upon  entering  the 
cabin,  the  two  callers  cast  their  eyes  about  until  they 
rested  on  the  whisky  barrel. 

uHave  you  come  to  levy  on  my  whisky?"  inquired  the 
now  suspicious  Madam. 


A   LEVY    ON    WHISKY.  305 

11  Yes,"  said  Meek,  "  I  have  come  to  levy  on  it ;  but  as 
I  am  not  quite  so  high  in  authority  as  Doctor  White,  I 
don't  intend  to  levy  on  the  whole  of  it  at  once.  I  think 
about  a  quart  of  it  will  do  me." 

Comprehending  by  the  twinkle  in  Meek's  eye  that  she 
had  now  a  customer  more  to  her  mind,  Madam  Cooper 
made  haste  to  set  before  her  visitors  a  bottle  and  tin  cup, 
upon  which  invitation  they  proceded  to  levy  frequently 
upon  the  contents  of  the  bottle ;  and  we  fear  that  the 
length  of  time  spent  there,  and  the  amount  of  whisky 
drank  must  have  strongly  reminded  Meek  of  past  rendez- 
vous times  in  the  mountains ;  nor  can  we  doubt  that  he 
entertained  Le  Breton  and  Madam  Cooper  with  many  rem- 
iniscences of  those  times.  However  that  may  be,  this 
was  not  the  last  visit  of  Meek  to  Madam  Cooper's,  nor  his 
last  levy  on  her  whisky. 

Shortly  after  his  election  as  sheriff  he  had  been  called 
upon  to  serve  a  writ  upon  a  desperate  character,  for  an 
attempt  to  kill.  Many  persons,  however,  fearing  the  re- 
sult of  trying  to  enforce  the  law  upon  desperadoes,  in  the 
then  defenceless  condition  of  the  colony,  advised  him  to 
wait  for  the  immigration  tc  come  in  before  attempting  the 
arrest.  But  Meek  preferred  to  do  his  duty  then,  and  went 
with  the  writ  to  arrest  him.  The  man  resisted,  making 
an  attack  on  the  sheriff  with  a  carpenter's  axe ;  but  Meek 
coolly  presented  a  pistol,  assuring  the  culprit  of  the  use- 
lessness  of  such  demonstrations,  and  soon  brought  him  to 
terms  of  compliance.  Such  coolness,  united  with  a  fine 
physique,  and  a  mountain-man's  reputation  for  reckless 
courage,  made  it  very  desirable  that  Meek  should  con- 
tinue to  hold  the  office  of  sheriff  during  that  stage  of  the 
colony's  development. 


CHAPTER    XXVII. 

1844.  As  has  before  been  mentioned,  the  Indians  of 
the  Wallamet  valley  were  by  no  means  so  formidable  as 
those  of  the  upper  country :  yet  considering  their  num- 
bers and  the  condition  of  the  settlers,  they  were  quite  for- 
midable enough  to  occasion  considerable  alarm  when  any 
one  of  them,  or  any  number  of  them  betrayed  the  savage 
passions  by  which  they  were  temporarily  overcome.  Con- 
siderable excitement  had  prevailed  among  the  more  scat- 
tered settlers,  ever  since  the  reports  of  the  disaffection 
among  the  up-country  tribes  had  reached  them ;  and  Dr. 
White  had  been  importuned  to  throw  up  a  strong  fortifi- 
cation in  the  most  central  part  of  the  colony,  and  to  pro- 
cure arms  for  their  defence,  at  the  expense  of  the  United 
States. 

This  excitement  had  somewhat  subsided  when  an  event 
occurred  which  for  a  time  renewed  it:  a  house  was  plun- 
dered and  some  horses  stolen  from  the  neighborhood  of 
the  Falls.  An  Indian  from  the  Dalles,  named  Cockstock 
was  at  the  bottom  of  the  mischief,  and  had  been  commit- 
ting or  instigating  others  to  commit  depredations  upon  the 
settlers,  for  a  year  previous,  because  he  had  been,  as  he 
fancied,  badly  treated  in  a  matter  between  himself  and  a 
negro  in  the  colony,  in  which  the  latter  had  taken  an  un- 
fair advantage  of  him  in  a  bargain. 

To  crown  his  injuries  Dr.  White  had  caused  a  relative 
of  his  to  be  flogged  by  the  Dalles  chief,  for  entering  the 


INDIAN  REVENGE RAID  OF  THE  KLAMATHS.      307 

house  of  the  Methodist  missionary  at  that  place,  and  tying 
him,  with  the  purpose  of  flogging  him.  (It  was  a  poor 
law,  he  thought,  that  would  not  work  both  ways.) 

In  revenge  for  this  insult  Cockstock  came  to  the  Doc- 
tor's house  in  the  Wallamet,  threatening  to  shoot  him  at 
sight,  but  not  finding  him  at  home,  contented  himself 
for  that  time,  by  smashing  all  the  windows  in  the  dwell- 
ing and  office  of  the  Doctor,  and  nearly  frightening  to 
death  a  young  man  on  the  premises. 

When  on  the  Doctor's  return  in  the  evening,  the  extent 
of  the  outrage  became  known,  a  party  set  out  in  pursuit 
of  Cockstock  and  his  band,  but  failed  to  overtake  them, 
and  the  settlers  remained  in  ignorance  concerning  the 
identity  of  the  marauders.  About  a  month  later,  how- 
ever, a  party  of  Klamath  and  Molalla  Indians  from  the 
south  of  Oregon,  numbering  fifteen,  came  riding  into  the 
settlement,  armed  and  painted  in  true  Indian  war-style. 
They  made  their  way  to  the  lodge  of  a  Calapooya  chief 
in  the  neighborhood — the  Calapooyas  being  the  Indians 
native  to  the  valley.  Dr.  White  fearing  these  mischiev- 
ous visitors  might  infect  the  mind  of  the  Calapooya  chief, 
sent  a  message  to  him,  to  bring  Iris  friends  to  call  upon 
him  in  the  morning,  as  he  had  something  good  to  say  to 
them. 

This  they  did,  when  Dr.  White  explained  the  laws  of  the 
Nez  Perces  to  them,  and  told  them  how  much  it  would  be 
to  their  advantage  to  adopt  such  laws.  He  gave  the  Cal- 
apooya chief  a  fine  fat  ox  to  feast  his  friends  with,  well 
knowing  that  an  Indian's  humor  depends  much  on  the 
state  of  his  stomach,  whether  shrunken  or  distended.  Af- 
ter the  feast  there  was  some  more  talk  about  the  laws,  in 
the  midst  of  which  the  Indian  Cockstock  made  his  appear- 
ance, armed,  and  sullen  in  his  demeanor.  But  as  Dr. 
White  did  not  know  him  for  the  perpetrator  of  the  out- 


308  MASSACRE    OF    INDIANS. 

rage  on  his  premises,  he  took  no  notice  of  him  more  than 
of  the  others.  The  Molallas  and  Klamaths  finally  agreed  to 
receive  the  laws ;  departing  in  high  good  humor,  singing 
and  shouting.  So  little  may  one  know  of  the  savage 
heart  from  the  savage  professions!  Some  of  these  In- 
dians were  boiling  over  with  secret  wrath  at  the  weakness 
of  their  brethren  in  consenting  to  laws  of  the  Agent's  dic- 
tation ;  and  while  they  were  crossing  a  stream,  fell  upon 
and  massacred  them  without  mercy,  Cockstock  taking  an 
active  part  in  the  murder. 

The  whites  were  naturally  much  excited  by  the  villianous 
and  horrible  affray,  and  were  for  taking  and  hanging  the 
murderers.  The  Agent,  however,  was  more  cautious,  and 
learning  that  there  had  been  feuds  among  these  Indians 
long  unsettled,  decided  not  to  interfere. 

In  February,  1844,  fresh  outrages  on  settlers  having 
been  committed  so  that  some  were  leaving  their  claims 
and  coming  to  stop  at  the  Falls  through  fear,  Dr.  White 
was  petitioned  to  take  the  case  in  hand.  He  accordingly 
raised  a  party  of  ten  men,  who  had  nearly  all  suffered 
some  loss  or  outrage  at  Cockstock's  hands,  and  set  out  in 
search  of  him,  but  did  not  succeed  in  finding  him.  His 
next  step  was  to  offer  a  reward  of  a  hundred  dollars  for 
his  arrest,  meaning  to  send  him  to  the  upper  country  to 
be  tried  and  punished  by  the  Cayuses  and  Nez  Perces,  the 
Doctor  prudently  desiring  to  have  them  bear  the  odium, 
and  suffer  the  punishment,  should  any  follow,  of  executing 
justice  on  the  Indian  desperado.  Not  so  had  the  fates  or- 
dained. 

About  a  week  after  the  reward  was  offered,  Cockstock 
came  riding  into  the  settlement  at  the  Falls,  at  mid-day, 
accompanied  by  five  other  Indians,  all  well  armed,  and 
frightfully  painted.  Going  from  house  to  house  on  their 
horses,  they  exhibited  their  pistols,  and  by  look  and  ges- 


AFFRAY  AT  THE  FALLS DEATH  OF  COCKSTOCK.   309 

ture  seemed  to  defy  the  settlers,  who,  however,  kept  quiet 
through  prudential  motives.  Not  succeeding  in  provok- 
ing the  whites  to  commence  the  fray,  Cockstock  finally  re- 
tired to  an  Indian  village  on  the  other  side  of  the  river, 
where  he  labored  to  get  up  an  insurrection,  and  procure 
the  burning  of  the  settlement  houses. 

Meantime  the  people  at  the  Falls  were  thoroughly 
alarmed,  and  bent  upon  the  capture  of  this  desperate  sav- 
age. When,  after  an  absence  of  a  few  hours,  they  saw 
him  recrossing  the  river  with  his  party,  a  crowd  of  per- 
sons ran  down  to  the  landing,  some  with  offers  of  large 
reward  to  any  person  who  would  attempt  to  take  him, 
while  others,  more  courageous,  were  determined  upon 
earning  it.  No  definite  plan  of  capture  or  concert  of  ac- 
tion was  decided  on,  but  all  was  confusion  and  doubt.  In 
this  frame  of  mind  a  collision  was  sure  to  take  place ;  both 
the  whites  and  Indians  firing  at  the  moment  of  landing. 
Mr.  LeBreton,  the  young  man  mentioned  in  the  previous 
chapter,  after  firing  ineffectually,  rushed  unarmed  upon 
Cockstock,  whose  pistol  was  also  empty,  but  who  still  had 
his  knife.  In  the  struggle  both  fell  to  the  ground,  when 
a  mulatto  man,  who  had  wrongs  of  his  own  to  avenge,  ran 
up  and  struck  Cockstock  a  blow  on  the  head  with  the  butt 
of  his  gun  which  dispatched  him  at  once. 

Thus  the  colony  was  rid  of  a  scourge,  yet  not  without 
loss  which  counterbalanced  the  gain.  Young  LeBreton 
besides  having  his  arm  shattered  by  a  ball,  was  wounded 
by  a  poisoned  arrow,  which  occasioned  his  death;  and 
Mr.  Rogers,  another  esteemed  citizen,  died  from  the  same 
cause;  while  a  third  was  seriously  injured  by  a  slight 
wound  from  a  poisoned  arrow.  As  for  the  five  friends  of 
Cockstock,  they  escaped  to  the  bluffs  overlooking  the  set- 
tlement, and  commenced  firing  down  upon  the  people. 
But  fire-arms  were  mustered  sufficient  to  dislodge  them, 


310  SETTLEMENT    OF    THE    DIFFICULTY. 

and  thus  the  affair  ended ;  except  that  the  Agent  had 
some  trouble  to  settle  it  with  the  Dalles  Indians,  who  came 
down  in  a  body  to  demand  payment  for  the  loss  of  their 
brother.  After  much  talk  and  explanation,  a  present  to 
the  widow  of  the  dead  Indian  was  made  to  smooth  over 
the  difficulty. 

Meek,  who  at  the  time  of  the  collision  was  rafting  tim- 
ber for  Dr.  McLaughlin's  mill  at  the  Falls,  as  might  have 
been  expected  was  appealed  to  in  the  melee  by  citizens 
who  knew  less  about  Indian  righting. 

A  prominent  citizen  and  merchant,  who  probably  sel- 
dom spoke  of  him  as  Mr.  Meek,  came  running  to  him  in 
great  affright : — "Mr.  Meek!  Mr.  Meek!  Mr.  Meek! — I 
want  to  send  my  wife  down  to  Vancouver.  Can  you  as- 
sist me  ?     Do  you  think  the  Indians  will  take  the  town  ?" 

"  It  'pears  like  half-a-dozen  Injuns  might  do  it,"  retorted 
Meek,  going  on  with  his  work. 

"What  do  you  think  we  had  better  do,  Mr.  Meek? — 
What  do  you  advise  ?". 

"I  think  you'd  better  run." 

In  all  difficulties  between  the  Indians  and  settlers,  Meek 
usually  refrained  from  taking  sides — especially  from  taking 
sides  against  the  Indians.  For  Indian  slayer  as  he  had 
once  been  when  a  ranger  of  the  mountains,  he  had  too 
much  compassion  for  the  poor  wretches  in  the  Wallamet 
Valley,  as  well  as  too  much  knowledge  of  the  savage  na- 
ture, to  like  to  make  unnecessary  war  upon  them.  Had 
he  been  sent  to  take  Cockstock,  very  probably  he  would 
have  done  it  with  little  uproar ;  for  he  had  sufficient  influ- 
ence among  the  Calapooyas  to  have  enlisted  them  in  the 
undertaking.  But  this  was  the  Agent's  business  and  he 
let  him  manage  it ;  for  Meek  and  the  Doctor  were  not  in 
love  with  one  another ;  one  was  solemnly  audacious,  the 
other  mischievously  so.     Of  the  latter  sort  of  audacity, 


SOLEMN   AUDACITY AMBITIOUS   DESIGNS.  311 

here  is  an  example.  Meek  wanted  a  horse  to  ride  out  to 
the  Plains  where  his  family  were,  and  not  knowing  how 
else  to  obtain  it,  helped  himself  to  one  belonging  to  Dr. 
White ;  which  presumption  greatly  incensed  the  Doctor, 
and  caused  him  to  threaten  various  punishments,  hanging 
among  the  rest.     But  the  Indians  overhearing  him  replied^ 

"  Wake  nika  cumtux — You  dare  not. — You  no  put  rope 
round  Meek's  neck.     He  tyee  (chief) — no  hang  him." 

Upon  which  the  Doctor  thought  better  of  it,  and  having 
vented  his  solemn  audacity,  received  smiling  audacity  with 
apparent  good  humor  when  he  came  to  restore  the  bor- 
rowed horse. 

As  our  friend  Meek  was  sure  to  be  found  wherever  there 
was  anything  novel  or  exciting  transpiring,  so  he  was  sure 
to  fall  in  with  visitors  of  distinguished  character,  and  as 
ready  to  answer  their  questions  as  they  were  to  ask  them. 
The  conversation  chanced  one  day  to  run  upon  the  changes 
that  had  taken  place  in  the  country  since  the  earliest  set- 
tlement by  the  Americans,  and  Meek,  who  felt  an  honest 
pride  in  them,  was  expatiating  at  some  length,  to  the  ill- 
concealed  amusement  of  two  young  officers,  who  probably 
saw  nothing  to  admire  in  the  rude  improvements  of  the 
Oregon  pioneers. 

"Mr.  Meek,"  said  one  of  them,  "if  you  have  been  so 
long  in  the  country  and  have  witnessed  such  wonderful 
transformations,  doubtless  you  may  have  observed  equally 
great  ones  in  nature ;  in  the  rivers  and  mountains,  for  in- 
stance ?" 

Meek  gave  a  lightning  glance  at  the  speaker  who  had  so 
mistaken  his  respondent : 

"  I  reckon  I  have,"  said  he  slowly.  Then  waving  his 
hand  gracefully  toward  the  majestic  Mt.  Hood,  towering 
thousands  of  feet  above  the  summit  of  the  Cascade  range, 


312  PROMISING    CONDITION    OF    THE    COLONY. 

and  white  with  everlasting  snows:  "  When  / came  to  this 
country,  Mount  Hood  was  a  hole  in  the  ground  /" 

It  is  hardly  necessary  to  say  that  the  conversation  ter- 
minated abruptly,  amid  the  universal  cachinations  of  the 
bystanders. 

Notwithstanding  the  slighting  views  of  Her  British  Ma- 
jesty's naval  officers,  the  young  colony  was  making  rapid 
strides.  The  population  had  been  increased  nearly  eight 
hundred  by  the  immigration  of  1844,  so  that  now  it  num- 
bered nearly  two  thousand.  Grain  had  been  raised  in 
considerable  quantities,  cattle  and  hogs  had  multiplied, 
and  the  farmers  were  in  the  best  of  spirits.  Even  our  hero, 
who  hated  farm  labor,  began  to  entertain  faith  in  the  re- 
sources of  his  land  claim  to  make  him  rich. 

Such  was  the  promising  condition  of  the  colony  in  the 
summer  of  1845.  Much  of  the  real  prosperity  of  the  set- 
tlers was  due  to  the  determination  of  the  majority  to  ex- 
clude ardent  spirits  and  all  intoxicating  drinks  from  the 
country.  So  well  had  they  succeeded  that  a  gentleman 
writing  of  the  colony  at  that  time,  says:  "I  attended  the 
last  term  of  the  circuit  courts  in  most  of  the  counties,  and 
I  found  great  respect  shown  to  judicial  authority  every- 
where ;  nor  did  I  see  a  single  drunken  juryman,  nor  wit- 
ness, nor  spectator.  So  much  industry,  good  order,  and 
sobriety  I  have  never  seen  in  any  community." 

While  this  was  the  rule,  there  were  exceptions  to  it. 
During  the  spring  term  of  the  Circuit  Court,  Judge  Ne- 
smith  being  on  the  bench,  a  prisoner  was  arraigned  before 
him  for  "  assault  with  intent  to  kill."  The  witness  for  the 
prosecution  was  called,  and  was  proceeding  to  give  evi- 
dence, when,  at  some  statement  of  his,  the  prisoner  vocifer- 
ated that  he  was  a  "d d  liar,"  and  quickly  stripping 

off  his  coat  demanded  a  chance  to  fight  it  out  with  the 
witness. 


ANECDOTE  OE  JUDGE  NESMITH  01  «> 

Judge  Nesmith  called  for  the  interference  of  Meek, 
who  had  been  made  marshal,  but  just  at  that  moment  he 
was  not  to  be  found.  Coming  into  the  room  a  moment 
later,  Meek  saw  the  Judge  down  from  his  bench,  holding 
the  prisoner  by  the  collar. 

"  You  can  imagine,"  says  Meek,  "  the  bustle  in  court. 
But  the  Judge  had  the  best  of  it.  He  fined  the  rascal, 
and  made  him  pay  it  on  the  spot ;  while  I  just  stood  back 
to  see  his  honor  handle  him.     That  was  fun  for  me." 

The  autumn  of  1845  was  marked  less  by  striking  events 
than  by  the  energy  which  the  people  exhibited  in  improv- 
ing the  colony  by  laying  out  roads  and  town-sites.  Al- 
ready quite  a  number  of  towns  were  located,  in  which 
the  various  branches  of  business  were  beginning  to  de- 
velop themselves.  Oregon  City  was  the  most  populous 
and  important,  but  Salem,  Champoeg,  and  Portland  were 
known  as  towns,  and  other  settlements  were  growing  up 
on  the  Tualatin  Plains  and  to  the  south  of  them,  in  the 
fertile  valleys  of  the  numerous  tributaries  to  the  Wal- 
lamet. 

Portland  was  settled  in  this  year,  and  received  its  name 
from  the  game  of  "  heads  you  lose,  tails  I  win,"  by  which 
its  joint  owners  agreed  to  determine  it.  One  of  them 
being  a  Maine  man,  was  for  giving  it  the  name  which  it 
now  bears ,  the  other  partner  being  in  favor  of  Boston, 
because  he  was  a  Massachusetts  man.  It  was,  therefore, 
agreed  between  them  that  a  copper  cent  should  be  tossed 
to  decide  the  question  of  the  christening,  which  being 
done,  heads  and  Portland  won. 

The  early  days  of  that  city  were  not  always  safe  and 
pleasant  any  more  than  those  of  its  older  rivals ;  and  the 
few  inhabitants  frequently  were  much  annoyed  by  the 
raids  they  were  subject  to  from  the  now  thoroughly  vag- 
abondized Indians.  On  one  occasion,  while  yet  the  pop- 
ulation was  small,  they  were  very  much  annoyed  by  the 


314  AN    INDIAN    CAROUSAL   AT    PORTLAND. 

visit  of  eight  or  ten  lodges  of  Indians,  who  had  some- 
where obtained  liquor  enough  to  get  drunk  on,  and  were 
enjoying  a  debauch  in  that  spirit  of  total  abandon  which 
distinguishes  the  Indian  carousal. 

Their  performances  at  length  alarmed  the  people,  yet 
no  one  could  be  found  who  could  put  an  end  to  them. 
In  this  dilemma  the  Marshal  came  riding  into  town,  splen- 
didly mounted  on  a  horse  that  would  turn  at  the  least 
touch  of  the  rein.  The  countenances  of  the  anxious 
Portland ers  brightened.  One  of  the  town  proprietors 
eagerly  besought  him  to  "settle  those  Indians."  "Very 
well,"  answered  Meek  ;  "  I  reckon  it  won't  take  me  long." 
Mounting  his  horse,  after  first  securing  a  rawhide  rope,  he 
"charged"  the  Indian  lodges,  rope  in  hand,  laying  it  on 
with  force,  the  bare  shoulders  of  the  Indians  offering 
good  back-grounds  for  the  pictures  which  he  was  rapidly 
executing. 

Not  one  made  any  resistance,  for  they  had  a  wholesome 
fear  of  tyee  Meek.  In  twenty  minutes  not  an  Indian,  man 
or  woman,  was  left  in  Portland.  Some  jumped  into  the 
river  and  swam  to  the  opposite  side,  and  some  fled  to  the 
thick  woods  and  hid  themselves.  The  next  morning, 
early,  the  women  cautiously  returned  and  earned  away 
their  property,  but  the  men  avoided  being  seen  again  by 
the  marshal  who  punished  drunkenness  so  severely. 

Header's  query.  Was  it  Meek  or  the  Marshal  who  so 
strongly  disapproved  of  spreeing  ? 

Ans.     It  was  the  Marshal. 

The  immigration  to  Oregon  this  year  much  exceeded 
that  of  any  previous  year ;  and  there  was  the  usual 
amount  of  poverty,  sickness,  and  suffering  of  every  sort, 
-among  the  fresh  arrivals.  Indeed  the  larger  the  trains 
the  greater  the  amount  of  suffering  generally ;  since  the 
grass  was  more  likely  to  be  exhausted,   and  more  hin- 


THE    IMMIGRATION   OF    1845.  315 

drances  of  every  kind  were  likely  to  occur.  In  any  case, 
a  march  of  several  months  through  an  unsettled  country 
was  sure  to  leave  the  traveler  in  a  most  forlorn  and  ex- 
hausted condition  every  way. 

This  was  the  situation  of  thousands  of  people  who 
reached  the  Dalles  in  the  autumn  of  1845.  Food  was 
very  scarce  among  them,  and  the  difficulties  to  encounter 
before  reaching  the  Wallamet  just  as  great  as  those  of  the 
two  previous  years.  As  usual  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company 
came  to  the  assistance  of  the  immigrants,  furnishing  a  pas- 
sage down  the  river  in  their  boats;  the  sick,  and  the 
women  and  children  being  taken  first. 

Among  the  crowd  of  people  encamped  at  the  Dalles, 
was  a  Mr.  Rector,  since  well  known  in  Oregon  and  Cali- 
fornia. Like  many  others  he  was  destitute  of  provisions ; 
his  supplies  having  given  out.  Neither  had  he  any  money. 
In  this  extremity  he  did  that  which  was  very  disagreeable 
to  him,  as  one  of  the  "prejudiced"  American  citizens 
who  were  instructed  beforehand  to  hate  and  suspect  the 
Hudson's  Bay  Company — he  applied  to  the  company's 
agent  at  the  Dalles  for  some  potatoes  and  flour,  confessing 
his  present  inability  to  pay,  with  much  shame  and  reluc- 
tance. 

"Do  not  apologize,  sir,"  said  the  agent  kindly;  "take 
what  you  need.  There  is  no  occasion  to  starve  while  our 
supplies  hold  out." 

Mr.  K  found  his  prejudices  in  danger  of  melting  away 
under  such  treatment ;  and  not  liking  to  receive  bounty  a 
second  time,  he  resolved  to  undertake  the  crossing  of  the 
Cascade  mountains  while  the  more  feeble  of  the  immi- 
grants were  being  boated  down  the  Columbia.  A  few 
others  who  were  in  good  health  decided  to  accompany 
him.  They  succeeded  in  getting  their  wagons  forty  miles 
beyond  the  Dalles ;  but  there  they  could  move  no  further. 


316  THE    CASCADE   MOUNTAIN    ROAD-HUNTERS. 

In  this  dilemma,  after  consultation,  Mr.  Rector  and  Mr. 
Barlow  agreed  to  go  ahead  and  look  out  a  wagon  road. 
Taking  with  them  two  days'  provisions,  they  started  on 
in  the  direction  of  Oregon  City.  But  they  found  road 
hunting  in  the  Cascade  mountains  an  experience  unlike 
any  they  had  ever  had.  Not  only  had  they  to  contend 
with  the  usual  obstacles  of  precipices,  ravines,  mountain 
torrents,  and  weary  stretches  of  ascent  and  descent ;  but 
they  found  the  forests  standing  so  thickly  that  it  would 
have  been  impossible  to  have  passed  between  the  trees 
with  their  wagons  had  the  ground  been  'clear  of  fallen 
timber  and  undergrowth.  On  the  contrary  these  latter 
obstacles  were  the  greatest  of  all.  So  thickly  were  the 
trunks  of  fallen  trees  crossed  and  recrossed  everywhere, 
and  so  dense  the  growth  of  bushes  in  amongst  them,  that 
it  was  with  difficulty  they  could  force  their  way  on  foot. 

It  soon  became  apparent  to  the  road  hunters,  that  two 
days'  rations  would  not  suffice  for  what  work  they  had 
before  them.  At  the  first  camp  it  was  agreed  to  live 
upon  half  rations  the  next  day  ;  and  to  divide  and  subdi- 
vide their  food  each  day,  only  eating  half  of  what  was 
left  from  the  day  before,  so  that  there  would  always  still 
remain  a  morsel  in  case  of  dire  extremity. 

But  the  toil  of  getting  through  the  woods  and  over  the 
mountains  proved  excessive ;  and  that,  together  with  in- 
sufficient food,  had  in  the  course  of  two  or  three  days 
reduced  the  strength  of  Mr.  Barlow  so  that  it  was  with 
great  effort  only  that  he  could  keep  up  with  his  younger 
and  more  robust  companion,  stumbling  and  falling  at 
every  few  steps,  and  frequently  hurting  himself  considera- 
bly. 

So  wolfish  and  cruel  is  the  nature  of  men,  under  trying 
circumstances,  that  instead  of  feeling  pity  for  his  weaker 
and  less  fortunate  companion,  Mr.  Rector  became  impa- 


THE    CASCADE    MOUNTAIN    ROAD-HUNTERS. 


317 


tient,  blaming  him  for  causing  delays,  and  often  requiring 
assistance. 

To  render  their  situation  still  more  trying,  rain  began 
to  fall  heavily,  which  with  the  cold  air  of  the  mountains, 
soon  benumbed  their  exhausted  frames.  Fearing  that 
should  they  go  to  sleep  so  cold  and  famished,  they  might 
never  be  able  to  rise  again,  on  the  fourth  or  fifth  evening 

they  resolved  to 
kindle  a  fire,  if  by 
any  means  they 
could  do  so.  Dry 
and  broken  wood 
had  been  plenty 
enough,  but,  for  the 
rain,  which  was 
drenching  every- 
thing. Neither 
matches  nor  flint 
had  they,  however, 
in  any  case.  The 
night  was  setting 
in  black  with  dark- 
I  ness  ;  the  wind 
swayed  the  giant 
firs  over  head,  and 
then  they  heard 
the  thunder  of  a 
falling  monarch  of 
the  forest  unpleas- 
antly near.  Search- 
ing among  the  bush- 
es, and  under  fallen  timber  for  some  dry  leaves  and  sticks, 
Mr.  Rector  took  a  bundle  of  them  to  the  most  sheltered 
spot  he  could  find,  and  set  himself  to  work  to  coax  a  spark 
of  fire  out  of  two  pieces  of  dry  wood  which  he  had  split 


THE  ROAD-IIUN'TEllS. 


318  THE    CASCADE   MOUNTAIN   ROAD-HUNTERS. 

for  that  purpose.  It  was  a  long  and  weary  while  before  suc- 
cess was  attained,  by  vigorous  rubbing  together  of  the  dry 
wood,  but  it  was  attained  at  last ;  and  the  stiffening  limbs 
of  the  road-hunters  were  warmed  by  a  blazing  camp-fire. 

The  following  day,  the  food  being  now  reduced  to  a 
crumb  for  each,  the  explorers,  weak  and  dejected,  toiled 
on  in  silence,  Mr.  Rector  always  in  advance.  On  chancing 
to  look  back  at  his  companion  he  observed  him  to  be 
brushing  away  a  tear.  "  What  now,  old  man  ?"  asked 
Mr.  R.  with  most  unchristian  harshness. 

"  What  would  you  do  with  me,  Rector,  should  I  fall  and 
break  a  leg,  or  become  in  any  way  disabled  ?"  inquired 
Mr.  Barlow,  nervously. 

u  Do,  with  you?  I  would  eat  you!"  growled  Mr.  Rec- 
tor, stalking  on  again. 

As  no  more  was  said  for  some  time,  Mr.  R.'s  conscience 
rather  misgave  him  that  he  treated  his  friend  unfeelingly ; 
then  he  stole  a  look  back  at  him,  and  beheld  the  wan  face 
bathed  in  tears. 

"Come,  come,  Barlow,"  said  he  more  kindly,  "don't 
take  affairs  so  much  to  heart.  You  will  not  break  a  leg, 
and  I  should  not  eat  you  if  you  did,  for  you  have'nt  any 
flesh  on  you  to  eat." 

"  Nevertheless,  Rector,  I  want  you  to  promise  me  that 
in  case  I  should  fall  and  disable  myself,  so  that  I  cannot 
get  on,  you  will  not  leave  me  here  to  die  alone,  but  will 
kill  me  with  your  axe  instead." 

"Nonsense,  Barlow;  you  are  weak  and  nervous,  but 
you  are  not  going  to  be  disabled,  nor  eaten,  nor  killed. 
Keep  up  man ;  we  shall  reach  Oregon  City  yet." 

So,  onward,  but  ever  more  slowly  and  painfully,  toiled 
again  the  pioneers,  the  wonder  being  that  Mr.  Barlow's 
fears  were  not  realized,  for  the  clambering  and  descend- 
ing gave  him  many  a  tumble,  the  tumbles  becoming  more 
frequent  as  his  strength  declined. 


A   REASON    FOR   PATRIOTISM. 


319 


Towards  evening  of  this  day  as  they  came  to  the  pre- 
cipitous bank  of  a  mountain  stream  which  was  flowing  in 
the  direction  they  wished  to  go,  suddenly  there  came  to 
their  ears  a  sound  of  more  than  celestial  melody ;  the 
tinkling  of  bells,  lowing  of  cattle,  the  voice  of  men  hal- 
looing to  the  herds.  They  had  struck  the  cattle  trail, 
which  they  had  first  diverged  from  in  the  hope  of  finding 
a  road  passable  to  wagons.  In  the  overwhelming  revul- 
sion of  feeling  which  seized  them,  neither  were  able  for 
some  moments  to  command  their  voices  to  call  for  assist- 
ance. That  night  they  camped  with  the  herdsmen,  and 
supped  in  such  plenty  as  an  immigrant  camp  afforded. 

Such  were  the  sufferings  of  two  individuals,  out  of  a 
great  crowd  of  sufferers ;  some  afflicted  in  one  way  and 
some  in  another.  That  people  who  endured  so  much  to 
reach  their  El  Dorado  should  be  the  most  locally  patriotic 
people  in  the  world,  is  not  singular.  Mr.  Barlow  lived  to 
construct  a  wagon  road  over  the  Cascades  for  the  use  of 
subsequent  immigrations. 


,.«*JRfl|JK.  TO?^(1CJ9'"V|v^>^iJ  | 


21 


CHAPTER    XXVIII. 

Early  in  1846,  Meek  resigned  his  office  of  marshal  of 
the  colony,  owing  to  the  difficulty  of  collecting  taxes ;  for 
in  a  thinly  inhabited  country,  where  wheat  was  a  legal 
tender,  at  sixty  cents  per  bushel,  it  was  rather  a  burden- 
some occupation  to  collect,  in  so  ponderous  a  currency ; 
and  one  in  which  the  collector  required  a  granary  more 
than  a  pocket-book.  Besides,  Meek  had  out-grown  the 
marshalship,  and  aspired  to  become  a  legislator  at  the  next 
June  election. 

He  had  always  discharged  his  duty  with  promptitude 
and  rectitude  while  sheriff;  and  to  his  known  courage 
might  be  attributed,  in  many  instances,  the  ready  compli- 
ance with  law  which  was  remarkable  in  so  new  and  pecu- 
liar an  organization  as  that  of  the  Oregon  colony.  The 
people  had  desired  not  to  be  taxed,  at  first ;  and  for  a 
year  or  more  the  goverment  was  sustained  by  a  fund 
raised  by  subscription.  When  at  last  it  was  deemed  best 
to  make  collections  by  law,  the  Canadians  objected  to  taxa- 
tion to  support  an  American  government,  while  they  were 
still  subjects  of  Great  Britain ;  but  ultimately  yielded  the 
point,  by  the  advice  of  Dr.  McLaughlin. 

But  it  was  not  always  the  Canadians  who  objected  to 
being  taxed,  as  the  following  anecdote  will  show.  Dr. 
McLaughlin  was  one  day  seated  in  his  office,  in  conversa- 
tion with  some  of  his  American  friends,  when  the  tall  form 
of  the  sheriff  darkened  the  doorway. 

"I  have  come  to  tax  you,  Doctor,"  said  Meek  with  his 


THE   BORROWED   STEER.  321 

blandest  manner,  and  with  a  merry  twinkle,  half  sup- 
pressed, in  his  black  eyes. 

"To  tax  me,  Mr.  Jo.  I  was  not  aware — I  really  was 
not  aware — I  believed  I  had  paid  my  tax,  Mr.  Jo," 
stammered  the  Doctor,  somewhat  annoyed  at  the  prospect 
of  some  fresh  demand. 

"  Thar  is  an  old  ox  out  in  my  neighborhood,  Doctor, 
and  he  is  said  to  belong  to  you.  Thar  is  a  tax  of  twenty- 
five  cents  on  him." 

"  I  do  not  understand  you,  Mr.  Jo.  I  have  no  cattle  out 
in  your  neighborhood." 

"I  couldn't  say  how  that  maybe,  Doctor.  All  I  do 
know  about  it,  is  just  this.  I  went  to  old  G — 's  to  collect 
the  tax  on  his  stock — and  he's  got  a  powerful  lot  of  cat- 
tle,— and  while  we  war  a  countin  'em  over,  he  left  out 
that  old  ox  and  said  it  belonged  to  you." 

"Oh,  oh,  I  see,  Mr.  Jo:  yes,  yes,  I  see!  So  it  was 
Mr.  G — ,"  cried  the  Doctor,  getting  very  red  in  the  face. 
"I  do  remember  now,  since  you  bring  it  to  my  mind,  that 
I  lent  Mr.  6n —  that  steer  six  years  ago !  Here  are  the 
twenty-five  cents,  Mr.  Jo." 

The  sheriff  took  his  money,  and  went  away  laughing ; 
while  the  Doctor's  American  friends  looked  quite  as  much 
annoyed  as  the  Doctor  himself,  over  the  meanness  of  some 
of  their  countrymen. 

The  year  of  1846  was  one  of  the  most  exciting  in  the 
political  history  of  Oregon.  President  Polk  had  at  last 
given  the  notice  required  by  the  Joint  occupation  treaty, 
that  the  Oregon  boundary  question  must  be  settled. 

Agreeably  to  the  promise  which  Dr.  McLaughlin  had 
received  from  the  British  Admiral,  H.  B.  M.  Sloop  of  war 
Modeste  had  arrived  in  the  Columbia  River  in  the  month 
of  October,  1845,  and  had  wintered  there.     Much  as  the 


322  LOSS   OF    THE    SHARK. 

Doctor  had  wished  for  protection  from  possible  outbreaks, 
he  yet  felt  that  the  presence  of  a  British  man-of-war  in 
the  Columbia,  and  another  one  in  Puget  Sound,  was  offen- 
sive to  the  colonists.  He  set  himself  to  cover  up  as  care- 
fully as  possible  the  disagreeable  features  of  the  British 
lion,  by  endeavoring  to  establish  social  intercourse  between 
the  officers  of  the  Modeste  and  the  ladies  and  gentlemen 
of  the  colony,  and  his  endeavors  were  productive  of  a 
partial  success. 

During  the  summer,  however,  the  United  States  Schooner 
Shark  appeared  in  the  Columbia,  thus  restoring  the  balance 
of  power,  for  the  relief  of  national  jealousy.  After  re- 
maining for  some  weeks,  the  Shark  took  her  departure, 
but  was  wrecked  on  the  bar  at  the  mouth  of  the  river, 
according  to  a  prophecy  of  Meek's,  who  had  a  grudge 
against  her  commander,  Lieut.  Howison,  for  spoiling  the 
sport  he  was  having  in  company  with  one  of  her  officers, 
while  Howison  was  absent  at  the  Cascades. 

It  appears  that  Lieut.  Schenck  was  hospitably  inclined, 
and  that  on  receiving  a  visit  from  the  hero  of  many  bear- 
fights,  who  proved  to  be  congenial  on  the  subject  of  good 
liquors,  he  treated  both  Meek  and  himself  so  freely  as  to 
render  discretion  a  foreign  power  to  either  of  them.  Va- 
ried and  brilliant  were  the  exploits  performed  by  these 
jolly  companions  during  the  continuance  of  the  spree; 
and  still  more  brilliant  were  those  they  talked  of  perform- 
ing, even  the  taking  of  the  Modeste,  which  was  lying  a 
little  way  off,  in  front  of  Vancouver.  Fortunately  for  the 
good  of  all  concerned,  Schenck  contented  himself  with 
firing  a  salute  as  Meek  was  going  over  the  side  of  the  ship 
on  leaving.  But  for  this  misdemeanor  he  was  put  under 
arrest  by  Howison,  on  his  return  from  the  Cascades,  an  in- 
dignity which  Meek  resented  for  the  prisoner,  by  assuring 
Lieut.  Howison  that  he  would  lose  his  vessel  before  he 


k 


THE  LONG  SUSPENSE  OVER.  323 

got  out  of  the  river.  And  lose  her  he  did.  Schenck  was 
released  after  the  vessel  struck,  escaping  with  the  other 
officers  and  crew  by  means  of  small  boats.  Very  few  arti- 
cles were  saved  from  the  wreck,  but  among  those  few  was 
the  stand  of  colors,  which  Lieut.  Howison  subsequently 
presented  to  Gov.  Abernethy  for  the  colony. 


There  sinks  the  sun  ;  like  cavalier  of  old, 

Servant  of  crafty  Spain, 
He  flaunts  his  banner,  barred  with  blood  and  gold, 

Wide  o'er  the  western  main ; 
A  thousand  spear  heads  glint  beyond  the  trees 

In  columns  bright  and  long, 
While  kindling  fancy  hears  upon  the  breeze 

The  swell  of  shout  and  song. 

And  yet  not  here  Spain's  gay,  adventurous  host 

Dipped  sword  or  planted  cross  ; 
The  treasures  guarded  by  this  rock-bound  coast 

Counted  them  gain  nor  loss. 
The  blue  Columbia,  sired  by  the  eternal  hills 

And  wedded  with  the  sea, 
O'er  golden  sands,  tithes  from  a  thousand  rills, 

Boiled  in  lone  majesty — 

Through  deep  ravine,  through  burning,  barren  plain, 

Through  wild  and  rocky  strait, 
Through  forest  dark,  and  mountain  rent  in  twain 

Toward  the  sunset  gate; 
While  curious  eyes,  keen  with  the  lust  of  gold, 

Caught  not  the  informing  gleam, 
These  mighty  breakers  age  on  age  have  rolled 

To  meet  this  mighty  stream. 

Age  after  age  these  noble  hills  have  kept, 

The  same  majestic  lines  ; 
Age  after  age  the  horizon's  edge  been  swept 

By  fringe  of  pointed  pines. 
Summers  and  Winters  circling  came  and  went, 

Bringing  no  change  of  scene  ; 
Unresting,  and  unhasting,  and  unspent, 

Dwelt  Nature  here  serene  ! 


324  SUNSET    AT   THE   MOUTH    OP   THE    COLUMBIA. 

Till  God's  own  time  to  plant  of  Freedom's  seed, 

In  this  selected  soil ; 
Denied  forever  unto  blood  and  greed, 

But  blest  to  honest  toil. 
There  sinks  the  sun ;  Gay  cavalier  no  more ! 

His  banners  trail  the  sea, 
And  all  his  legions  shining  on  the  shore 

Fade  into  mystery. 

The  swelling  tide  laps  on  the  shingly  beach, 

Like  any  starving  thing  ; 
And  hungry  breakers,  white  with  wrath,  upreach, 

In  a  vain  clamoring. 
The  shadows  fall ;  just  level  with  mine  eye 

Sweet  Hesper  stands  and  shines, 
And  shines  beneath  an  arc  of  golden  sky, 

Pinked  round  with  pointed  pines. 

A  noble  scene  !  all  breadth,  deep  tone,  and  power, 

Suggesting  glorious  themes ; 
Shaming  the  idler  who  would  fill  the  hour 

With  unsubstantial  dreams. 
Be  mine  the  dreams  prophetic,  shadowing  forth 

The  things  that  yet  shall  be, 
When  through  this  gate  the  treasures  of  the  North 

Flow  outward  to  the  sea. 


CHAPTER    XXIX. 

The  author  of  the  following,  "  poem  "  was  not  either  a 
dull  or  an  unobservant  writer ;  and  we  insert  his  verses  as 
a  comical  bit  of  natural  history  belonging  peculiarly  to 
Oregon. 

ADVENTURES  OF  A  COLUMBIA  SALMON. 

What  is  yon  object  which  attracts  the  eye 
Of  the  observing,  traveler,  who  ascends 
Columbia's  waters,  when  the  summer  sky 
In  one  soft  tint,  calm  nature's  clothing  blends : 
As  glittering  in  the  sunbeams  down  it  floats 
'Till  some  vile  vulture  on  its  carcase  gloats  ? 

'Tis  a  poor  salmon,  which  a  short  time  past, 
With  thousands  of  her  finny  sisters  came, 
By  instinct  taught,  to  seek  and  find  at  last, 
The  place  that  gave  her  birth,  there  to  remain 
'Till  nature's  offices  had  been  discharged, 
And  fry  from  out  the  ova  had  emerged. 

Her  Winter  spent  amongst  the  sheltered  bays 
Of  the  salt  sea,  where  numerous  fish  of  prey, 
With  appetite  keen,  the  number  of  her  days 
Would  soon  have  put  an  end  to,  could  but  they 
Have  caught  her ;  but  as  they  could  not,  she, 
Spring  having  come,  resolved  to  quit  the  sea : 

And  moving  with  the  shoal  along  the  coast,  at  length 
She  reached  the  outlet  of  her  native  river, 
There  tarried  for  a  little  to  recruit  her  strength, 
So  tried  of  late  by  cold  and  stormy  weather ; 
Sporting  in  playful  gambols  o'er  the  banks  and  sands, 
Chasing  the  tiny  fish  frequenting  there  in  bands. 


326  ADVENTURES    OF    A   SALMON. 

But  ah,  how  little  thought  this  simple  fish, 
The  toils  and  perils  she  had  yet  to  suffer, 
The  chance  she  ran  of  serving  as  a  dish 
For  hungry  white  men  or  for  Indian's  supper,— 
Of  enemies  in  which  the  stream  abounded, 
When  lo !  she's  by  a  fisher's  net  surrounded. 

Partly  conscious  of  her  approaching  end, 

She  darts  with  meteoric  swiftness  to  and  fro, 

Striking  the  frail  meshes,  within  which  she's  penned, 

Which  bid  defiance  to  her  stoutest  blow : 

To  smaller  compass  by  degrees  the  snare  is  drawn, 

When  with  a  leap  she  clears  it  and  is  gone. 

Once  more  at  large  with  her  companions,  now 
Become  more  cautious  from  her  late  escape, 
She  keeps  in  deeper  water  and  thinks  how 
Foolish  she  was  to  get  in  such  a  scrape ; 
As  mounting  further  up  the  stream,  she  vies 
With  other  fish  in  catching  gnats  and  flies. 

And  as  she  on  her  way  did  thus  enjoy 
Life's  fleeting  moments,  there  arose  a  panic 
Amongst  the  stragglers,  who  in  haste  deploy 
Around  their  elder  leaders,  quick  as  magic, 
While  she  unconscious  of  the  untimely  rout, 
Was  by  a  hungry  otter  singled  out : 

Vigorous  was  the  chase,  on  the  marked  victim  shot 
Through  the  clear  water,  while  in  close  pursuit 
Followed  her  amphibious  foe,  who  scarce  had  got 
Near  enough  to  grasp  her,  when  with  turns  acute, 
And  leaps  and  revolutions,  she  so  tried  the  otter, 
He  gave  up  the  hunt  with  merely  having  bit  her. 

Scarce  had  she  recovered  from  her  weakness,  when 
An  ancient  eagle,  of  the  bald-head  kind, 
Winging  his  dreary  way  to'rds  some  lone  glen, 
Where  was  her  nest  with  four  plump  eaglets  lined, 
Espied  the  fish,  which  he  judged  quite  a  treat, 
And  just  the  morsel  for  his  little  ones  to  eat : 

And  sailing  in  spiral  circles  o'er  the  spot, 
Where  lay  his  prey,  then  hovering  for  a  time, 
To  take  his  wary  aim,  he  stooped  and  caught 
His  booty,  which  he  carried  to  a  lofty  pine ; 
Upon  whose  topmost  branches,  he  first  adjusted 
His  awkward  load,  ere  with  his  claws  he  crushed  it. 


ADVENTURES   OF   A   SALMON.  327 

"  111  is  the  wind  that  blows  no  person  good  " — 
So  said  the  adage,  and  as  luck  would  have  it, 
A  huge  grey  eagle  out  in  search  of  food, 
Who  just  had  whet  his  hunger  with  a  rabbit, 
Attacked  the  other,  and  the  pair  together, 
In  deadly  combat  fell  into  the  river. 

Our  friend  of  course  made  off,  when  she'd  done  falling 
Some  sixty  yards,  and  well  indeed  she  might ; 
For  ne'er,  perhaps,  a  fish  got  such  a  mauling 
Since  Adam's  time,  or  went  up  such  a  height 
Into  the  air,  and  came  down  helter-skelter, 
As  did  this  poor  production  of  a  melter. 

All  these,  with  many  other  dangers,  she  survived, 
Too  manifold  in  this  short  space  to  mention ; 
So  we'll  suppose  her  to  have  now  arrived 
Safe  at  the  Fafy,  without  much  more  detention 
Than  one  could  look  for,  where  so  many  liked  her 
Company,  and  so  many  Indians  spiked  her. 

And  here  a  mighty  barrier  stops  her  way : 
The  tranquil  water,  finding  in  its  course 
Itself  beset  with  rising  rocks,  which  lay 
As  though  they  said,  "  retire  ye  to  your  source," 
Bursts  with  indignant  fury  from  its  bondage,  now 
Rushes  in  foaming  torrents  to  the  chasm  below. 

The  persevering  fish  then  at  the  foot  arrives, 
Laboring  with  redoubled  vigor  mid  the  surging  tide, 
And  finding,  by  her  strength,  she  vainly  strives 
To  overcome  the  flood,  though  o'er  and  o'er  she  tried ; 
Her  tail  takes  in  her  mouth,  and  bending  like  a  bow 
That's  to  full  compass  drawn,  aloft  herself  doth  throw; 

And  spinning  in  the  air,  as  would  a  silver  wand 
That's  bended  end  to  end  and  upwards  cast, 
Headlong  she  falls  amid  the  showering  waters,  and 
Gasping  for  breath,  against  the  rocks  is  dashed : 
Again,  again  she  vaults,  again  she  tries, 
And  in  one  last  and  feeble  effort— dies. 

There  was,  in  Oregon  City,  a  literary  society  called  the 
"Falls  Association,"  some  of  whose  effusions  were  occa- 
sionally sent  to  the  Spectator,  and  this  may  have  been  one 


328      THE  SOUTHERN  ROUTE  TO  THE  WALLAMET. 

of  them.  At  all  events,  it  is  plain  that  with  balls,  the- 
atres, literary  societies,  and  politics,  the  colony  was  not 
afflicted  with  dullness,  in  the  winter  of  1846. 

But  the  history  of  the  immigration  this  year,  afforded, 
perhaps,  more  material  for  talk  than  any  one  other  sub- 
ject. The  condition  in  which  the  immigrants  arrived  was 
one  of  great  distress.  A  new  road  into  the  valley  had 
been  that  season  explored,  at  great  labor  and  expense,  by 
a  company  of  gentlemen  who  had  in  view  the  aim  to 
lessen  the  perils  usually  encountered  in  descending  the 
Columbia.  They  believed  that  a  better  pass  might  be 
discovered  through  the  Cascade  range  to  the  south,  than 
that  which  had  been  found  around  the  base  of  Mount 
Hood,  and  one  which  should  bring  the  immigrants  in  at 
the  upper  end  of  the  valley,  thus  saving  them  consid- 
erable travel  and  loss  of  time  at  a  season  of  the  year 
when  the  weather  was  apt  to  be  unsettled. 

With  this  design,  a  party  had  set  out  to  explore  the 
Cascades  to  the  south,  quite  early  in  the  spring  ;  but  fail- 
ing in  their  undertaking,  had  returned.  Another  com- 
pany was  then  immediately  formed,  headed  by  a  promi- 
nent member  of  society  and  the  legislature.  This  com- 
pany followed  the  old  Hudson's  Bay  Company's  trail, 
crossing  all  those  ranges  of  mountains  perpendicular  to 
the  coast,  which  form  a  triple  wall  between  Oregon  and 
California,  until  they  came  out  into  the  valley  of  the  Hum- 
boldt, whence  they  proceeded  along  a  nearly  level,  but 
chiefly  barren  country  to  Fort  Hall,  on  the  Snake  River. 

The  route  was  found  to  be  practicable,  although  there 
was  a  scarcity  of  grass  and  water  along  a  portion  of  it ; 
but  as  the  explorers  had  with  great  difficulty  found  out 
and  marked  all  the  best  camping  grounds,  and  encoun- 
tered first  for  themselves  all  the  dangers  of  a  hitherto  un- 
explored region,  most  of  which  they  believed  they  had 


TRAGIC    FATE    OF   IMMIGRANTS.  329 

overcome,  they  felt  no  hesitation  in  recommending  the 
new  road  to  the  emigrants  whom  they  met  at  Fort  Hall. 

Being  aware  of  the  hardships  which  the  immigrants  of 
the  previous  years  had  undergone  on  the  Snake  River 
plains,  at  the  crossing  of  Snake  River,  the  John  Day,  and 
Des  Chutes  Rivers,  and  the  passage  of  the  Columbia,  the 
travelers  gladly  accepted  the  tidings  of  a  safer  route  to 
the  Wallamet.  A  portion  of  the  immigration  had  already 
gone  on  by  the  road  to  the  Dalles ;  the  remainder  turned 
off  by  the  southern  route. 

Of  those  who  took  the  new  route,  a  part  were  destined 
for  California.  All,  however,  after  passing  through  the 
sage  deserts,  committed  the  error  of  stopping  to  recruit 
their  cattle  and  horses  in  the  fresh  green  valleys  among 
the  foot-hills  of  the  mountains.  It  did  not  occur  to 
them  that  they  were  wasting  precious  time  in  this  way ; 
but  to  this  indulgence  was  owing  an  incredible  amount  of 
suffering.  The  California-bound  travelers  encountered 
the  season  of  snow  on  the  Sierras,  and  such  horrors  are 
recorded  of  their  sufferings  as  it  is  seldom  the  task  of  ears 
to  hear  or  pen  to  record.  Snow-bound,  without  food, 
those  who  died  of  starvation  were  consumed  by  the  liv- 
ing ;  even  children  were  eaten  by  their  once  fond  parents, 
with  an  indifference  horrible  to  think  on :  so  does  the 
mind  become  degraded  by  great  physical  suffering. 

The  Oregon  immigrants  had  not  to  cross  the  lofty  Sier- 
ras ;  but  they  still  found  mountains  before  them  which,  in 
the  dry  season,  would  have  been  formidable  enough.  In- 
stead, however,  of  the  dry  weather  continuing,  very  heavy 
rains  set  in.  The  streams  became  swollen,  the  mountain 
sides  heavy  and  •  slippery  with  the  wet  earth.  Where  the 
road  led  through  canyons,  men  and  women  were  some- 
times forced  to  stem  a  torrent,  breast  high,  and  cold 
enough  to  chill  the  life  in  their  veins.     The  cattle  gave 


330  AN   EXCITING   WINTER. 

out,  the  wagons  broke  down,  provisions  became  exhausted, 
and  a  few  persons  perished,  while  all  were  in  the  direst 
straits. 

The  first  who  got  through  into  the  valley  sent  relief  to 
those  behind ;  but  it  was  weeks  before  the  last  of  the 
worn,  weary,  and  now  impoverished  travelers  escaped 
from  the  horrors  of  the  mountains  in  which  they  were  so 
hopelessly  entangled,  and  where  most  of  their  worldly 
goods  were  left  to  rot. 

The  Oregon  legislature  met  as  usual,  to  hold  its  winter 
session,  though  the  people  hoped  and  expected  it  would 
be  for  the  last  time  under  the  Provisional  Government. 
There  were  only  two  "mountain-men"  in  the  House,  at 
this  session — Meek  and  Newell. 

In  the  suspense  under  which  they  for  the  present  re- 
mained, there  was  nothing  to  do  but  to  go  on  in  the  path 
of  duty  as  they  had  heretofore  done,  keeping  up  their 
present  form  of  government  until  it  was  supplanted  by  a 
better  one.  So  passed  the  summer  until  the  return  of  the 
"Glorious  Fourth,"  which,  being  the  first  national  anni- 
versary occuring  since  the  news  of  the  treaty  had  reached 
the  colony,  was  celebrated  with  proper  enthusiasm. 

It  chanced  that  an  American  ship,  the  Brutus,  Capt. 
Adams,  from  Boston,  was  lying  in  the  Wallamet,  and  that 
a  general  invitation  had  been  given  to  the  celebrationists 
to  visit  the  ship  during  the  day.  A  party  of  fifty  or  sixty, 
including  Meek  and  some  of  his  mountain  associates,  had 
made  their  calculations  to  go  on  board  at  the  same  time, 
and  were  in  fact  already  alongside  in  boats,  when  Captain 
Adams  singled  out  a  boat  load  of  people  belonging  to  the 
mission  clique,  and  inviting  them  to  come  on  board,  or- 
dered all  the  others  off. 

This  was  an  insult  too  great  to  be  borne  by  mountain- 


AN    INDIGNITY   RESENTED.  331 

men,  who  resented  it  not  only  for  themselves,  but  for  the  peo- 
ple's party  of  Americans  to  which  they  naturally  belonged. 
Their  blood  was  up,  and  without  stopping  to  deliberate, 
Meek  and  Newell  hurried  off  to  fetch  the  twelve-pounder 
that  had  a  few  hours  before  served  to  thunder  forth  the 
rejoicings  of  a  free  people,  but  with  which  they  now  pur- 
posed to  proclaim  their  indignation  as  freeman  heinously 
insulted.  The  little  twelve-pound  cannon  was  loaded  with 
rock,  and  got  into  range  with  the  offending  ship,  and  there 
is  little  doubt  that  Capt.  Adams  would  have  suffered  loss 
at  the  hands  of  the  incensed  multitude,  but  for  the  timely 
interference  of  Dr.  McLaughlin.  On  being  informed  of 
the  warlike  intentions  of  Meek  and  his  associates,  the  good 
Doctor  came  running  to  the  rescue,  his  white  hair  flowing 
back  from  his  noble  face  with  the  hurry  of  his  movements. 

u0h,  oh,  Mr.  Joe,  Mr.  Joe,  you  must  not  do  this!  in- 
deed, you  must  not  do  this  foolish  thing !  Come  now ; 
come  away.  You  will  injure  your  country,  Mr.  Joe.  How 
can  you  expect  that  ships  will  come  here,  if  they  are  fired 
on?     Come  away,  come  away!" 

And  Meek,  ever  full  of  wagishness,  even  in  his  wrath, 
replied : 

"Doctor,  it  is  not  that  I  love  the  Brutus  less,  but  my 
dignity  more." 

"Oh,  Shakespeare,  Mr.  Joe!  But  come  with  me;  come 
with  me." 

And  so  the  good  Doctor,  half  in  authority,  half  in  kind- 
ness, persuaded  the  resentful  colonists  to  pass  by  the  favor- 
itism of  the  Boston  captain. 

Meek  was  reelected  to  the  legislature  this  summer,  and 
swam  out  to  a  vessel  lying  down  at  the  mouth  of  the 
Wallamet,  to  get  liquor  to  treat  his  constituents;  from 
which  circumstance  it  may  be  inferred  that  while  Oregon 
was  remarkable  for  temperance,  there  were  occasions  on 


832       FAILURE    OF    THE    TERRITORIAL    GOVERNMENT    BILL. 

which  conviviality  was  deemed  justifiable  by  a  portion  of 
her  people. 

Thus  passed  the  summer.  The  autumn  brought  news 
of  a  large  emigration  en  route  for  the  new  territory  ;  but 
it  brought  no  news  of  good  import  from  Congress.  On 
the  contrary  the  bill  providing  for  a  territorial  government 
for  Oregon  had  failed,  because  the  Organic  Laws  of  that 
territory  excluded  slavery  forever  from  the  country.  The 
history  of  its  failure  is  a  part  and  parcel  of  the  record  of 
the  long  hard  struggle  of  the  south  to  extend  slavery  into 
the  United  States'  territories. 

Justly  dissatisfied,  but  not  inconsolable,  the  colony,  now 
that  hope  was  extinguished  for  another  season,  returned 
to  its  own  affairs.  The  immigration,  which  had  arrived 
early  this  year,  amounted  to  between  four  and  five  thou- 
sand. An  unfortunate  affray  between  the  immigrants  and 
the  Indians  at  the  Dalles,  had  frightened  away  from  that 
station  the  Rev.  Father  Waller ;  and  Dr.  Whitman  of  the 
Waiilatpu  mission  had  purchased  the  station  for  the  Pres- 
byterian mission,  and  placed  a  nephew  of  his  in  charge. 
Although,  true  to  their  original  bad  character,  the  Dalles 
Indians  had  frequently  committed  theft  upon  the  passing 
emigration,  this  was  the  first  difficulty  resulting  in  loss 
of  life,  which  had  taken  place.  This  quarrel  arose  out  of 
some  thefts  committed  by  the  Indians,  and  the  unwise  ad- 
vice of  Mr.  Waller,  in  telling  the  immigrants  to  retaliate 
by  taking  some  of  the  Indian  horses.  An  Indian  can  see 
the  justice  of  taking  toll  from  every  traveler  passing 
through  his  country ;  but  he  cannot  see  the  justice  of  be- 
ing robbed  in  return ;  and  Mr.  Waller  had  been  long 
enough  among  them  to  have  known  this 

Finding  that  it  must  continue  yet  a  little  longer  to  look 
after  its  own  government  and  welfare,  the  colony  had 
settled  back  into  its  wonted  pursuits.      The  legislature 


FALLING    OF    THE    THUNDERBOLT.  333 

had  convened  for  its  winter  session,  and  had  hardly  elected 
its  officers  and  read  the  usual  message  of  the  Governor, 
before  there  came  another,  which  fell  upon  their  ears  like 
a  thunderbolt.  Gov.  Abernethy  had  sent  in  the  following 
letter,  written  at  Vancouver  the  day  before  : 

Fort  Vancouver,  Dec.  7, 1847. 
George  Abernethy,  Esq.; . 

Sir  : — Having  received  intelligence,  last  night,  by  special  express  from 
Walla-Walla,  of  the  destruction  of  the  missionary  settlement  at  Waiilatpu,  by 
the  Cayuse  Indians  of  that  place,  we  hasten  to  communicate  the  particulars  of 
that  dreadful  event,  one  of  the  most  atrocious  which  darkens  the  annals  of  In- 
dian crime. 

Our  lamented  friend,  Dr.  Whitman,  his  amiable  and  accomplished  lady,  with 
nine  other  persons,  have  fallen  victims  to  the  fury  of  these  remorseless  savages, 
who  appear  to  have  been  instigated  to  this  appalling  crime  by  a  horrible  sus- 
picion which  had  taken  possession  of  their  superstitious  minds,  in  consequence 
of  the  number  of  deaths  from  dysentery  and  measles,  that  Dr.  Whitman  was 
silently  working  the  destruction  of  their  tribe  by  administering  poisonous  drugs, 
under  the  semblance  of  salutary  medicines. 

With  a  goodness  of  heart  and  benevolence  truly  his  own,  Dr.  Whitman  had 
been  laboring  incessantly  since  the  appearance  of  the  measles  and  dysentery 
among  his  Indian  converts,  to  relieve  their  sufferings  ;  and  such  has  been  the 
reward  of  his  generous  labors. 

A  copy  of  Mr.  McBean's  letter,  herewith  transmitted,  will  give  you  all  the 
particulars  known  to  us  of  this  indescribably  painful  event. 

Mr.  Ogden,  with  a  strong  party,  will  leave  this  place  as  soon  as  possible  for 
Walla- Walla,  to  endeavor  to  prevent  further  evil ;  and  we  beg  to  suggest  to 
you  the  propriety  of  taking  instant  measures  for  the  protection  of  the  Rev.  Mr. 
Spalding,  who,  for  the  sake  of  his  family,  ought  to  abandon  the  Clear-water 
mission  without  delay,  and  retire  to  a  place  of  safety,  as  he  cannot  remain  at 
that  isolated  station  without  imminent  risk,  in  the  present  excited  and  irritable 
state  of  the  Indian  population. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be,  sir,  your  most  obedient  servant, 

JAMES  DOUGLAS. 


CHAPTER    XXX. 

1842-7.  Doubtless  the  reader  remembers  the  disquiet 
felt  and  expressed  by  the  Indians  in  the  upper  country  in 
the  year  1842.  For  the  time  they  had  been  quieted  by 
presents,  by  the  advice  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company, 
and  by  the  Agent's  promise  that  in  good  time  the  United 
States  would  send  them  blankets,  guns,  ammunition,  food 
farming  implements,  and  teachers  to  show  them  how  to 
live  like  the  whites. 

In  the  meantime,  five  years  having  passed,  these  prom- 
ises had  not  been  kept.  Five  times  a  large  number  of 
whites,  with  their  children,  their  cattle,  and  wagons,  had 
passed  through  their  country,  and  gone  down  into  the 
Wallamet  Valley  to  settle.  Now  they  had  learned  that 
the  United  States  claimed  the  Wallamet  valley;  yet  they 
had  never  heard  that  the  Indians  of  that  country  had  re- 
ceived any  pay  for  it. 

They  had  accepted  the  religion  of  the  whites  believing 
it  would  do  them  good ;  but  now  they  were  doubtful. 
Had  they  not  accepted  laws  from  the  United  States  agent, 
and  had  not  their  people  been  punished  for  acts  which 
their  ancestors  and  themselves  had  always  before  commit- 
ted at  will  ?  None  of  these  innovations  seemed  to  do 
them  any  good :  they  were  disappointed.  But  the  whites, 
or  Bostons,  (meaning  the  Americans)  were  coming  more 


CAUSES    OF    THEIR    DISQUIET.  335 

and  more  every  year,  so  that  by-and-by  there  would  be 
all  Bostons  and  no  Indians. 

Once  they  had  trusted  in  the  words  of  the  Americans ; 
but  now  they  knew  how  worthless  were  their  promises. 
The  Americans  had  done  them  much  harm.  Years  before 
had  not  one  of  the  missionaries  suffered  several  of  their 
people,  and  the  son  of  one  of  their  chiefs,  to  be  slain  in 
his  company,  yet  himself  escaped?  Had  not  the  son  of 
another  chief,  who  had  gone  to  California  to  buy  cattle, 
been  killed  by  a  party  of  Americans,  for  no  fault  of  his 
own?  Their  chief's  son  was  killed,  the  cattle  robbed  from 
his  party,  after  having  been  paid  for;  and  his  friends 
obliged  to  return  poor  and  in  grief. 

To  be  sure,  Dr.  White  had  given  them  some  drafts  to 
be  used  in  obtaining  cattle  from  the  immigration,  as  a 
compensation  for  their  losses  in  California ;  but  they  could 
not  make  them  available ;  and  those  who  wanted  cattle 
had  to  go  down  to  the  Wallamet  for  them.  In  short, 
could  the  Indians  have  thought  of  an  American  epithet  to 
apply  to  Americans,  it  would  have  been  that  expressive 
word  humbug.  What  they  felt  and  what  they  thought, 
was,  that  they  had  been  cheated.  They  feared  greater 
frauds  in  the  future,  and  they  were  secretly  resolved  not 
to  submit  to  them. 

So  far  as  regarded  the  missionaries,  Dr.  Whitman  and 
his  associates,  they  were  divided ;  yet  as  so  many  looked 
on  the  Doctor  as  an  agent  in  promoting  the  settlement  of 
the  country  with  whites,  it  was  thought  best  to  drive  him 
from  the  country,  together  with  all  the  missionaries.  Sev- 
eral years  before  Dr.  Whitman  had  known  that  the  Indians 
were  displeased  with  his  settlement  among  them.  They 
had  told  him  of  it :  they  had  treated  him  with  violence ; 
they  had  attempted  to  outrage  his  wife;  had  burned  his 
property;  and  had  more  recently  several  times  warned 

him  to  leave  their  country,  or  they  should  kill  him. 

22 


336  THEIR    FEELINGS   TOWARDS    DR.    WHITMAN. 

Not  that  all  were  angry  at  him  alike,  or  that  any  were 
personally  very  ill-disposed  towards  him.  Everything 
that  a  man  could  do  to  instruct  and  elevate  these  savage 
people,  he  had  done,  to  the  best  of  his  ability,  together 
with  his  wife  and  assistants.  But  he  had  not  been  able,  or 
perhaps  had  not  attempted,  to  conceal  the  fact,  that  he 
looked  upon  the  country  as  belonging  to  his  people,  rather 
than  to  the  natives,  and  it  was  this  fact  which  was  at  the 
bottom  of  their  "bad  hearts  "  toward  the  Doctor.  So  often 
had  warnings  been  given  which  were  disregarded  by  Dr. 
Whitman,  that  his  friends,  both  at  Vancouver  and  in  the 
settlements,  had  long  felt  great  uneasiness,  and  often  be- 
sought him  to  remove  to  the  Wallamet  valley. 

But  although  Dr.  Whitman  sometimes  was  half  per- 
suaded to  give  up  the  mission  upon  the  representations  of 
others,  he  could  not  quite  bring  himself  to  do  so.  So  far 
as  the  good  conduct  of  the  Indians  was  concerned,  they 
had  never  behaved  better  than  for  the  last  two  years. 
There  had  been  less  violence,  less  open  outrage,  than  for- 
merly ;  and  their  civilization  seemed  to  be  progressing ; 
while  some  few  were  apparently  hopeful  converts.  Yet 
there  was  ever  a  whisper  in  the  air — "Dr.  Whitman  must 
die." 

The  mission  at  Lapwai  was  peculiarly  successful.  Mrs. 
Spalding,  more  than  any  other  of  the  missionaries,  had 
been  able  to  adapt  herself  to  the  Indian  character,  and  to 
gain  their  confidence.  Besides,  the  Nez  Perces  were  a 
better  nation  than  theCayuses; — more  easily  controlled 
by  a  good  counsel ;  and  it  seemed  like  doing  a  wrong  to 
abandon  the  work  so  long  as  any  good  was  likely  to  result 
from  it.  There  were  other  reasons  too,  why  the  missions 
could  not  be  abandoned  in  haste,  one  of  which  was  the 
difficulty  of  disposing  of  the  property.     This  might  have 


INFLUENCE    OF    THE    CATHOLIC    MISSIONARIES.  337 

been  done  perhaps,  to  the  Catholics,  who  were  establish- 
ing missions  throughout  the  upper  country ;  but  Dr.  Whit- 
man would  never  have  been  so  false  to  his  own  doctrines, 
as  to  leave  the  field  of  his  labors  to  the  Romish  Church. 

Yet  the  division  of  sentiment  among  the  Indians  with 
regard  to  religion,  since  the  Catholic  missionaries  had  come 
among  them,  increased  the  danger  of  a  revolt :  for  in 
the  Indian  country  neither  two  rival  trading  companies, 
nor  two  rival  religions  can  long  prosper  side  by  side. 
The  savage  cannot  understand  the  origin  of  so  many  re- 
ligions. He  either  repudiates  all,  or  he  takes  that  which 
addresses  itself  to  his  understanding  through  the  senses. 
In  the  latter  respect,  the  forms  of  Catholicism,  as  adapted 
to  the  savage  understanding,  made  that  religion  a  danger- 
ous rival  to  intellectual  and  idealistic  Presbyterianism. 
But  the  more  dangerous  the  rival,  the  greater  the  firmness 
with  which  Dr.  Whitman  would  cling  to  his  duty. 

There  were  so  many  causes  at  work  to  produce  a  revo- 
lution among  the  Indians,  that  it  would  be  unfair  to  name 
any  one  as  the  cause.  The  last  and  immediate  provoca- 
tion was  a  season  of  severe  sickness  among  them.  The 
disease  was  measels,  and  was  brought  in  the  train  of  the 
immigration. 

This  fact  alone  was  enough  to  provoke  the  worst  pas- 
sions of  the  savage.  The  immigration  in  itself  was  a  suf- 
ficient offense ;  the  introduction  through  them  of  a  pesti- 
lence, a  still  weightier  one.  It  did  not  signify  that  Dr. 
Whitman  had  exerted  himself  night  and  day  to  give  them 
relief.  Their  peculiar  notions  about  a  medicine-man  made 
it  the  Doctor's  duty  to  cure  the  sick ;  or  made  it  the  duty 
of  the  relatives  of  the  dead  and  dying  to  avenge  their 
deaths. 

Yet  in  spite  of  all  and  every  provocation,  perhaps  the 
fatal  tragedy  might  have  been  postponed,  had  it  not  been 


838  THE    FATAL    TEST. 

for  the  evil  influence  of  one  Jo  Lewis,  a  half-breed,  who 
had  accompanied  the  emigration  from  the  vicinity  of  Fort 
Hall.  This  Jo  Lewis,  with  a  large  party  of  emigrants, 
had  stopped  to  winter  at  the  mission,  much  against  Dr. 
Whitman's  wishes ;  for  he  feared  not  having  food  enough 
for  so  many  persons.  Finding  that  he  could  not  prevent 
them,  he  took  some  of  the  men  into  his  employ,  and  among 
others  the  stranger  half-breed. 

This  man  was  much  about  the  house,  and  affected  to  re- 
late to  the  Indians  conversations  which  he  heard  between 
Dr.  and  Mrs.  Whitman,  and  Mr.  Spalding,  who  with  his 
little  daughter,  was  visiting  at  Waiilatpu.  These  conver- 
sations related  to  poisoning  the  Indians,  in  order  to  get 
them  all  out  of  the  way,  so  that  the  white  men  could  en- 
joy their  country  unmolested.-  Yet  this  devil  incarnate 
did  not  convince  his  hearers  at  once  of  the  truth  of  his 
statements ;  and  it  was  resolved  in  the  tribe  to  make  a 
test  of  Dr.  Whitman's  medicine.  Three  persons  were  se- 
lected to  experiment  upon ;  two  of  them  already  sick,  and 
the  third  quite  well.  Whether  it  was  that  the  medicine 
was  administered  in  too  large  quantities,  or  whether  an 
unhappy  chance  so  ordered  it,  all  those  three  persons  died. 
Surely  it  is  not  singular  that  in  the  savage  mind  this  cir- 
cumstance should  have  been  deemed  decisive.  It  was 
then  that  the  decree  went  forth  that  not  only  the  Doctor 
and  Mrs.  Whitman,  but  all  the  Americans  at  the  mission 
must  die. 

On  the  2  2d  of  November,  Mr.  Spalding  arrived  at 
Waiilatpu,  from  his  mission,  one  hundred  and  twenty 
miles  distant,  with  his  daughter,  a  child  of  ten  years, 
bringing  with  him  also  several  horse-loads  of  grain,  to 
help  feed  the  emigrants  wintering  there.  He  found  the 
Indians  suffering  very  much,  dying  one,  two,  three,  and 
sometimes  five  in  a  day.     Several  of  the  emigrant  families, 


THE    LAST    INTERVIEW.  339 

also,  were  sick  with  measels  and  the  dysentery,  which  fol- 
lowed the  disease.  A  child  of  one  of  them  died  the  day 
following  Mr.  Spalding's  arrival. 

Dr.  Whitman's  family  consisted  of  himself  and  wife, 
a  young  man  named  Rodgers,  who  was  employed  as  a 
teacher,  and  also  studying  for  the  ministry,  two  young 
people,  a  brother  and  sister,  named  Bulee,  seven  orphaned 
children  of  one  family,  whose  parents  had  died  on  the 
road  to  Oregon  in  a  previous  year,  named  Sager,  Helen 
Mar,  the  daughter  of  Joe  Meek,  another  little  half-breed 
girl,  daughter  of  Bridger  the  fur-trader,  a  half-breed 
Spanish  boy  whom  the  Doctor  had  brought  up  from  in- 
fancy, and  two  sons  of  a  Mr.  Manson,  of  the  Hudson's 
Bay  Company.  , 

Besides  these,  there  were  half-a-dozen  other  families  at 
the  mission,  and  at  the  saw-mill,  twenty  miles  distant,  five 
families  more — in  all,  forty-six  persons  at  Waiilatpu,  and 
fifteen  at  the  mill,  who  were  among  those  who  suffered  by 
the  attack.  But  there  were  also  about  the  mission,  three 
others,  Joe  Lewis,  Nicholas  Finlay,  and  Joseph  Stanfield, 
who  probably  knew  what  was  about  to  take  place,  and 
may,  therefore  be  reckoned  as  among  the  conspirators. 

While  Mr.  Spalding  was  at  Waiilatpu,  a  message  came 
from  two  Walla- Walla  chiefs,  living  on  the  Umatilla  River, 
to  Dr.  Whitman,  desiring  him  to  visit  the  sick  in  their 
villages,  and  the  two  friends  set  out  together  to  attend  to 
the  call,  on  the  evening  of  the  27th  of  November.  Says 
Mr.  Spalding,  referring  to  that  time:  "The  night  was 
dark,  and  the  wind  and  rain  beat  furiously  upon  us.  But 
our  interview  was  sweet.  We  little  thought  it  was  to  be 
our  last.  With  feelings  of  the  deepest  emotion  we  called 
to  mind  the  fact,  that  eleven  years  before,  we  crossed  this 
trail  before  arriving  at  Walla- Walla,  the  end  of  our  seven 
months'  journey  from  New  York.      We  called  to  mind 


340  NIGHT    VISIT    TO    THE    UilATILLA. 

the  high  hopes  and  thrilling  interests  which  had  been 
awakened  during  the  year  that  followed — of  our  success- 
ful labors  and  the  constant  devotedness  of  the  Indians  to 
improvement.  True,  we  remembered  the  months  of  deep 
solicitude  we  had,  occasioned  by  the  increasing  menacing 
demands  ot  the  Indians  for  pay  for  their  wood,  their 
water,  their  air,  their  lands.  But  much  of  this  had  passed 
away,  and  the  Cayuses  were  in  a  far  more  encouraging 
condition  than  ever  before."  Mr.  Spalding  further  re- 
lates that  himself  and  Dr.  Whitman  also  conversed  on  the 
danger  which  threatened  them  from  the  Catholic  influence. 
"  We  felt,"  he  says,  "that  the  present  sickness  afforded 
them  a  favorable  opportunity  to  excite  the  Indians  to 
drive  us  from  the  country,  and  all  the  movements  about 
us  seemed  to  indicate  that  this  would  soon  be  attempted, 
if  not  executed."  Such  was  the  suspicion  in  the  minds 
of  the  Protestants.  Let  us  hope  that  it  was  not  so  well 
founded  as  they  believed. 

The  two  friends  arrived  late  at  the  lodge  of  Stickas,  a 
chief,  and  laid  down  before  a  blazing  fire  to  dry  their 
drenched  clothing.  In  the  morning  a  good  breakfast  was 
prepared  for  them,  consisting  of  beef,  vegetables,  and 
bread — all  of  which  showed  the  improvement  of  the  In- 
dians in  the  art  of  living.  The  day,  being  Sunday,  was 
observed  with  as  much  decorum  as  in  a  white  man's  house. 
After  breakfast,  Dr.  Whitman  crossed  the  river  to  visit 
the  chiefs  who  had  sent  for  him,  namely,  Tan-i-tan,  Five 
Crows,  and  Yam-ha-wa-lis,  returning  about  four  o'clock 
in  the  afternoon,  saying  he  had  taken  tea  with  the  Cath- 
olic bishop  and  two  priests,  at  their  house,  which  belonged 
to  Tan-i-tan,  and  that  they  had  promised  to  visit  him  in  a 
short  time.  He  then  departed  for  the  mission,  feeling 
uneasy  about  the  sick  ones  at  home. 

Mr.   Spalding  remained  with  the  intention  of  visiting 


STICKAS'    WARNING — THE    DEATH-SONG.  341 

the  sick  and  offering  consolation  to  the  dying.  But  he 
soon  discovered  that  there  was  a  weighty  and  uncomfort- 
able secret  on  the  mind  of  his  entertainer,  Stickas.  After 
much  questioning,  Stickas  admitted  that  the  thought  which 
troubled  him  was  that  the  Americans  had  been  "  decreed 
against "  by  his  people  ;  more  he  could  not  be  induced  to 
reveal.  Anxious,  yet  not  seriously  alarmed, — for  these 
warnings  had  been  given  before  many  times,- — he  retired 
to  his  couch  of  skins,  on  the  evening  of  the  29th,  being 
Monday — not  to  sleep,  however;  for  on  either  side  of 
him  an  Indian  woman  sat  down  to  chant  the  death-song 
— that  frightful  lament  which  announces  danger  and  death. 
On  being  questioned  they  would  reveal  nothing. 

On  the  following  morning,  Mr.  Spalding  could  no  longer 
remain  in  uncertainty,  but  set  out  for  Waiilatpu.  As  he 
mounted  his  horse  to  depart,  an  Indian  woman  placed 
her  hand  on  the  neck  of  his  horse  to  arrest  him,  and  pre- 
tending to  be  arranging  his  head-gear,  said  in  a  low  voice 
to  the  rider,  "Beware  of  the  Cayuses  at  the  mission." 
Now  more  than  ever  disturbed  by  this  intimation  that  it 
was  the  mission  which  was  threatened,  he  hurried  for- 
ward, fearing  for  his  daughter  and  his  friends.  He  pro- 
ceeded without  meeting  any  one  until  within  sight  of  the 
lovely  Walla-Walla  valley,  almost  in  sight  of  the  mission 
itself,  when  suddenly,  at  a  wooded  spot  where  the  trail 
passes  through  a  little  hollow,  he  beheld  two  horsemen 
advancing,  whom  he  watched  with  a  fluttering  heart, 
longing  for,  and  yet  dreading,  the  news  which  the  very 
air  seemed  whispering. 

The  two  horsemen  proved  to  be  the  Catholic  Vicar 
General,  Brouillet,  who,  with  a  party  of  priests  and  nuns 
had  arrived  in  the  country  only  a  few  months  previous, 
and  his  half-breed  interpreter,  both  of  whom  were  known 


342  MEETING    WITH   BROUILLET. 

to  Mr.  Spalding.     They  each  drew  rein  as  they  approach- 
ed, Mr.  Spalding  immediately  inquiring  "  what  news  ?" 

"There  are  very  many  sick  at  the  Whitman  station," 
answered  Brouillet,  with  evident  embarrassment. 

"How  are  Doctor  and  Mrs.  Whitman  ?"  asked  Spalding 
anxiously. 

"  The  Doctor  is  ill — is  dead,"  added  the  priest  reluc- 
tantly. 

"And  Mrs.  Whitman?"  gasped  Spalding. 

"Is  dead  also.     The  Indians  have  killed  them." 

"  My  daughter  ?"  murmured  the  agonized  questioner. 

"  Is  safe,  with  the  other  prisoners,"  answered  Brouillet. 

"And  then,"  says  Spalding  in  speaking  of  that  moment 
of  infinite  horror,  when  in  his  imagination  a  picture  of  the 
massacre,  of  the  anguish  of  his  child,  the  suffering  of  the 
prisoners,  of  the  probable  destruction  of  his  own  family 
and  mission,  and  his  surely  impending  fate,  all  rose  up 
before  him — "  I  felt  the  world  all  blotted  out  at  once,  and 
sat  on  my  horse  as  rigid  as  a  stone,  not  knowing  or  feeling 
anything." 

While  this  conversation  had  been  going  on  the  half- 
breed  interpreter  had  kept  a  sinister  watch  over  the  com- 
munication, and  his  actions  had  so  suspicious  a  look  that 
the  priest  ordered  him  to  ride  on  ahead.  When  he  had 
obeyed,  Brouillet  gave  some  rapid  instructions  to  Spald- 
ing ;  not  to  go  near  the  mission,  where  he  could  do  no 
good,  but  would  be  certainly  murdered ;  but  to  fly,  to 
hide  himself  until  the  excitement  was  over.  The  men  at 
the  mission  were  probably  all  killed ;  the  women  and 
children  would  be  spared ;  nothing  could  be  done  at  pres- 
ent but  to  try  to  save  his  own  life,  which  the  Indians  were 
resolved  to  take. 

The  conversation  was  hurried,  for  there  was  no  time  to 
lose.     Spalding  gave  his  pack-horse  to  Brouillet,  to  avoid 


MR.    SPALDING  S   NIGHT   JOURNEY. 


343 


being  encumbered  by  it ;  and  taking  some  provisions 
which  the  priest  offered,  struck  off  into  the  woods  there 
to  hide  until  dark.  Nearly  a  week  from  this  night  he  ar- 
rived at  the  Lapwai  mission,  starved,  torn,  with  bleeding 
feet  as  well  as  broken  heart.  Obliged  to  secrete  himself 
by  day,  his  horse  had  escaped  from  him,  leaving  him  to 
perform  his  night  journeys  on  foot  over  the  sharp  rocks 
and  prickly  cactus  plants,  until  not  only  his  shoes  had 
been  worn  out,  but  his  feet  had  become  cruelly  lacerated. 
The  constant  fear  which  had  preyed  upon  his  heart  of 
finding  his  family  murdered,  had  produced  fearful  havoc 
in  the  life-forces ;  and  although  Mr.  Spalding  had  the  hap- 
piness of  finding  that  the  Nez  Perces  had  been  true  to 
Mrs.  Spalding,  defending  her  from  destruction,  yet  so 
great  had  been  the  first  shock,  and  so  long  continued  the 
strain,  that  his  nervous  system  remained  a  wreck  ever 
afterward. 


MOUNT    HOOD    FROM    THE    DALLE.- 


CHAPTER    XXXI. 

1847.  When  Dr.  Whitman  reached  home  on  that  Sun- 
day night,  after  parting  with  Mr.  Spalding  at  the  Umatilla, 
it  was  already  about  midnight ;  yet  he  visited  the  sick 
before  retiring  to  rest ;  and  early  in  the  morning  resumed 
his  duties  among  them.  An  Indian  died  that  morning. 
At  his  burial,  which  the  Doctor  attended,  he  observed 
that  but  few  of  the  friends  and  relatives  of  the  deceased 
were  present  but  attributed  it  to  the  fear  which  the  In- 
dians have  of  disease. 

Everything  about  the  mission  was  going  on  as  usual. 
Quite  a  number  of  Indians  were  gathered  about  the  place ; 
but  as  an  ox  was  being  butchered,  the  crowd  was  easily 
accounted  for.  Three  men  were  dressing  the  beef  in  the 
yard.  The  afternoon  session  of  the  mission  school  had 
just  commenced.  The  mechanics  belonging  to  the  station 
were  about  their  various  avocations.  Young  Bulee  was 
sick  in  the  Doctor's  house.  Three  of  the  orphan  children 
who  were  recovering  from  the  measles,  were  with  the 
Doctor  and  Mrs.  Whitman  in  the  sitting-room ;  and  also  a 
Mrs.  Osborne,  one  of  the  emigrants  who  had  just  got  up 
from  a  sick  bed,  and  who  had  a  sick  child  in  her  arms. 

The  Doctor  had  just  come  in,  wearied,  and  dejected  as  it 
was  possible  for  his  resolute  spirit  to  be,  and  had  seated 
himself,  bible  in  hand,  when  several  Indians  came  to  a  side 
door,  asking  permission  to  come  in  and  get  some  medicine. 
The  Doctor  rose,  got  his  medicines,  gave  them  out,  and 


COMMENCEMENT    OF    THE    MASSACRE.  345 

sat  down  again.  At  that  moment  Mrs.  Whitman  was  in 
an  adjoining  room  and  did  not  see  what  followed.  Tam- 
a-has,  a  chief  called  "the  murderer,"  came  behind  the 
Doctor's  chair,  and  raising  his  tomahawk,  struck  the  Doc- 
tor in  the  back  of  the  head,  stunning  but  not  killing  him. 

Instantly  there  was  a  violent  commotion.  John  Sager, 
one  of  the  adopted  children,  sprang  up  with  his  pistol  in 
his  hand,  but  before  he  could  fire  it,  he  too  was  struck 
down,  and  cut  and  hacked  shockingly.  In  the  meantime 
Dr.  Whitman  had  received  a  second  blow  upon  the  head, 
and  now  laid  lifeless  on  the  floor.  Cries  and  confusion 
filled  the  house. 

At  the  first  sound,  Mrs.  Whitman,  in  whose  ears  that 
whisper  in  the  air  had  so  long  sounded,  began  in  agony 
to  stamp  upon  the  floor,  and  wring  her  hands,  crying  out, 
"Oh,  the  Indians,  the  Indians!"  At  that  moment  one  of 
the  women  from  an  adjoining  building  came  running  in, 
gasping  with  terror,  for  the  butchery  was  going  on  outside 
as  well,  and  Tam-aAias  and  his  associates  were  now  assist- 
ing at  it.  Going  to  the  room  where  the  Doctor  lay  insen- 
sible, Mrs.  Whitman  and  her  terrified  neighbor  dragged 
him  to  the  sofa  and  laid  him  upon  it,  doing  all  they  could 
to  revive  him.  To  all  their  inquiries  he  answered  by  a 
whispered  "  no,"  probably  not  conscious  what  was  said. 

While  this  was  being  done,  the  people  from  every  quar- 
ter began  to  crowd  into  the  Doctor's  house,  many  of  them 
wounded.  Outside  were  heard  the  shrieks  of  women,  the- 
yells  of  the  Indians,  the  roar  of  musketry,  the  noise  of  fu- 
rious riding,  of  meeting  war-clubs,  groans,  and  every 
frightful  combination  of  sound,  such  as  only  could  be  heard 
at  such  a  carnival  of  blood.  Still  Mrs.  Whitman  sat  by 
her  husband's  side,  intent  on  trying  to  rouse  him  to  say 
one  coherent  word. 

Nearer  and  nearer  came  the  struggle,  and  she  heard 


S-A6  THE   MURDER    OF    MRS.    WHITMAN. 

some  one  exclaim  that  two  of  her  friends  were  being  mur- 
dered beneath  the  window.  Starting  up,  she  approached 
the  casement  to  get  a  view,  as  if  by  looking  she  could 
save ;  but  that  moment  she  encountered  the  fiendish  gaze 
of  Jo  Lewis  the  half-breed,  and  comprehended  his  guilt. 
"Is  it  you,  Jo,  who  are  doing  this?'1  she  cried.  Before  the 
expression  of  horror  had  left  her  lips,  a  young  Indian  who 
had  been  a  special  favorite  about  the  mission,  drew  up  his 
gun  and  fired,  the  ball  entering  her  right  breast,  when  she 
fell  without  a  groan. 

When  the  people  had  at  first  rushed  in,  Mrs.  Whitman 
had  ordered  the  doors  fastened  and  the  sick  children  re- 
moved to  a  room  up  stairs.  Thither  now  she  was  herself 
conveyed,  having  first  recovered  sufficiently  to  stagger  to 
the  sofa  where  lay  her  dying  husband.  Those  who  wit- 
nessed this  strange  scene,  say  that  she  knelt  and  prayed — 
prayed  for  the  orphan  children  she  was  leaving,  and  for 
her  aged  parents.  The  only  expression  of  personal  regret 
she  was  heard  to  utter,  was  sorrow  that  her  father  and 
mother  should  live  to  know  she  had  perished  in  such  a 
manner. 

In  the  chamber  were  now  gathered  Mrs.  Whitman,  Mrs. 
Hayes,  Miss  Bulee,  Catharine  Sager,  thirteen  years  of  age, 
and  three  of  the  sick  children,  besides  Mr.  Rogers  and  Mr. 
Kimble.  Scarcely  had  they  gained  this  retreat  when  the 
crashing  of  windows  and  doors  was  heard  below,  and  with 
whoops  and  yells  the  savages  dashed  into  the  sitting-room 
where  Doctor  Whitman  still  lay  dying.  While  some 
busied  themselves  removing  from  the  house  the  goods  and 
furniture,  a  chief  named  Te-lau-ka-ikt,  a  favorite  at  the 
mission,  and  on  probation  for  admission  into  the  church, 
deliberately  chopped  and  mangled  the  face  of  his  still 
breathing  teacher  and  friend  with  his  tomahawk,  until  every 
feature  was  rendered  unrecognizable. 


THE    SUFFERINGS    OF    THE    CHILDREN.  34 f 

The  children  from  the  school-house  were  brought  into 
the  kitchen  of  the  Doctor's  house  about  this  time,  by  Jo 
Lewis,  where,  he  told  them,  they  were  going  to  be  shot. 
Mr.  Spalding's  little  girl  Eliza,  was»  among  them.  Under- 
standing the  native  language,  she  was  fully  aware  of  the 
terrible  import  of  what  was  being  said  by  their  tormen- 
tors. "While  the  Indians  talked  of  shooting  the  children 
huddled  together  in  the  kitchen,  pointing  their  guns,  and 
yelling,  Eliza  covered  her  face  with  her  apron,  and  leaned 
over  upon  the  sink,  that  she  might  not  see  them  shoot  her. 
After  being  tortured  in  this  manner  for  some  time,  the 
children  were  finally  ordered  out  of  doors. 

While  this  was  going  on,  a  chief  called  Tamtrsak-y,  was 
trying  to  induce  Mrs.  Whitman  to  come  down  into  the 
sitting-room. 

She  replied  that  she  was  wounded  and  could  not  do  so, 
upon  which  he  professed  much  sorrow,  and  still  desired 
her  to  be  brought  down,  "  If  you  are  my  friend  Tamt- 
sak-y,  come  up  and  see  me,"  was  her  reply  to  his  profes- 
sions, but  he  objected,  saying  there  were  Americans  con' 
cealed  in  the  chamber,  whom  he  feared  might  kill  him. 
Mr.  Rogers  then  went  to  the  head  of  the  stairs  and  em 
deavored  to  have  the  chief  come  up,  hoping  there  might 
be  some  friendly  ones,  who  would  aid  them  in  escaping 
from  the  murderers.  Tamt-sak-y,  however,  would  not 
come  up  the  stairs,  although  he  persisted  in  saying  that 
Mrs.  Whitman  should  not  be  harmed,  and  that  if  all  would 
come  down  and  go  over  to  the  other  house  where  the  fami- 
lies were  collected,  they  might  do  so  in  safety. 

The  Indians  below  now  began  to  call  out  that  they  were 
going  to  burn  the  Doctor's  house.  Then  no  alternative 
remained  but  to  descend  and  trust  to  the  mercy  of  the 
savages.  As  Mrs.  Whitman  entered  the  sitting-room,  lean- 
ing on  one  arm  of  Mr.  Rogers,  who  also  was  wounded  in 


348  THE    VICTIMS    TORTURED. 

the  head,  and  had  a  broken  arm,  she  caught  a  view  of  the 
shockingly  mutilated  face  of  her  husband  and  fell  fainting 
upon  the  sofa,  just  as  Doctor  Whitman  gave  a  dying  gasp. 

Mr.  Rogers  and  Mrs.  Hayes  now  attempted  to  get  the 
sofa,  or  settee,  out  of  the  house,  and  had  succeeded  in 
moving  it  through  the  kitchen  to  the  door.  No  sooner 
did  they  appear  in  the  open  door- way  than  a  volley  of  balls 
assailed  them.  Mr.  Rogers  fell  at  once,  but  did  not  die 
immediately,  for  one  of  the  most  horrid  features  in  this 
horrid  butchery  was,  that  the  victims  were  murdered  by 
torturing  degrees.  Mrs.  Whitman  also  received  several 
gunshot  wounds,  lying  on  the  settee.  Francis  Sager,  the 
oldest  of  her  adopted  boys,  was  dragged  into  the  group  of 
dying  ones  and  shot  down. 

The  children,  who  had  been  turned  out  of  the  kitchen 
were  still  huddled  together  about  the  kitchen  door,  so 
near  to  this  awful  scene  that  every  incident  was  known  to 
them,  so  near  that  the  flashes  from  the  guns  of  the  Indians 
burnt  their  hair,  and  the  odor  of  the  blood  and  the  burn- 
ing powder  almost  suffocated  them. 

At  two  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  the  massacre  had  com- 
menced. It  was  now  growing  dusk,  and  the  demons  were 
eager  to  finish  their  work.  Seeing  that  life  still  lingered 
in  the  mangled  bodies  of  their  victims,  they  finished  their 
atrocities  by  hurling  them  in  the  mud  and  gore  which  filled 
the  yard,  and  beating  them  upon  their  faces  with  whips 
and  clubs,  while  the  air  was  filled  with  the  noise  of  their 
shouting,  singing,  and  dancing — the  Indian  women  and 
children  assisting  at  these  orgies,  as  if  the  Bible  had  never 
been  preached  to  them.  And  thus,  after  eleven  years  of 
patient  endeavor  to  save  some  heathen  souls  alive,  perished 
Doctor  and  Mrs.  Whitman. 

In  all  that  number  of  Indians  who  had  received  daily 
kindnesses  at  the  hands  of  the  missionaries,  only  two 


ESCAPE  OF  JHR.  OSBORNE  AND  FAMILY.         349 

showed  any  compassion.  These  two,  Ups  and  Madpool, 
Walla- Wallas,  who  were  employed  by  the  Doctor,  took 
the  children  away  from  the  sickening  sights  that  sur- 
rounded them,  into  the  kitchen  pantry,  and  there  in  secret 
tried  to  comfort  them. 

When  night  set  in  the  children  and  families  were  all  re- 
moved to  the  building  called  the  mansion-house,  where  they 
spent  a  night  of  horror ;  all,  except  those  who  were  left  in 
Ills.  Whitman's  chamber,  from  which  they  dared  not  de- 
scend, and  the  family  of  Mr.  Osborne,  who  escaped. 

On  the  first  assault  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Osborne  ran  into  their 
bedroom  which  adjoined  the  sitting-room,  taking  with 
them  their  three  small  children.  Raising  a  plank  in  the 
floor,  Mr.  0.  quickly  thrust  his  wife  and  children  into  the 
space  beneath,  and  then  following,  let  the  plank  down  to 
its  place.  Here  they  remained  until  darkness  set  in,  able 
to  hear  all  that  was  passing  about  them,  and  fearing  to 
stir.  When  all  was  quiet  at  the  Doctor's  house,  they  stole 
out  under  cover  of  darkness  and  succeeded  in  reaching 
Fort  Walla- Walla,  after  a  painful  journey  of  several  days, 
or  rather  nights,  for  they  dared  not  travel  by  day. 

Another  person  who  escaped  was  a  Mr.  Hall,  carpenter, 
who  in  a  hand  to  hand  contest  with  an  Indian,  received  a 
wound  in  the  face,  but  finally  reached  the  cover  of  some 
bushes  where  he  remained  until  dark,  and  then  fled  in  the 
direction  of  Fort  Walla- Walla.  Mr.  Hall  was  the  first  to 
arrive  at  the  fort,  where,  contrary  to  his  expectations,  and 
to  all  humanity,  he  was  but  coldly  received  by  the  gentle- 
man in  charge,  Mr.  McBean. 

Whether  it  was  from  cowardice  or  cruelty  as  some  al- 
leged, that  Mr.  McBean  rejoiced  in  the  slaughter  of  the 
Protestant  missionaries,  himself  being  a  Catholic,  can  never 
be  known.  Had  that  been  true,  one  might  have  supposed 
that  their  death  would  have  been  enough,  and  that  he 


350  ESCAPE    AND    FATE    OF   MR.    HALL. 

might  have  sheltered  a  wounded  man  fleeing  for  his  life, 
without  grudging  him  this  atom  of  comfort.  Unfortunately 
for  Mr.  McBean's  reputation,  he  declined  to  grant  such  shel- 
ter willingly.  Mr.  Hall  remained,  however,  twelve  hours, 
until  he  heard  a  report  that  the  women  and  children  were 
murdered,  when,  knowing  how  unwelcome  he  was,  and  be- 
ing in  a.  half  distracted  state,  he  consented  to  be  set  across 
the  Columbia  to  make  his  way  as  best  he  could  to  the  Walla- 
met.  From  this  hour  he  was  never  seen  or  heard  from, 
the  manner  of  his  death  remaining  a  mystery  to  his  wife 
and  their  family  of  five  children,  who  were  among  the 
prisoners  at  Waiilatpu. 

When  Mr.  Osborne  left  the  mission  in  the  darkness,  he 
was  able  only  to  proceed  about  two  miles,  before  Mrs.  Os- 
borne's strength  gave  way,  she  lately  having  been  con- 
fined by  an  untimely  birth ;  and  he  was  compelled  to  stop, 
secreting  himself  and  family  in  some  bushes.  Here  they 
remained,  suffering  with  cold,  and  insufficient  food,  having 
only  a  little  bread  and  cold  mush  which  they  had  found 
in  the  pantry  of  the  Doctor's  house,  before  leaving  it.  On 
Tuesday  night,  Mrs.  0.  was  able  to  move  about  three  miles 
more :  and  again  they  were  compelled  to  stop.  In  this 
way  to  proceed,  they  must  all  perish  of  starvation ; 
therefore  on  Wednesday  night  Mr.  0.  took  the  second 
child  and  started  with  it  for  the  fort,  where  he  arrived  be- 
fore noon  on  Thursday. 

Although  Mr.McBean  received  him  with  friendliness  of 
manner,  he  refused  him  horses  to  go  for  Mrs.  Osborne  and 
his  other  children,  and  even  refused  to  furnish  food  to  re- 
relieve  their  hunger,  telling  him  to  go  to  the  Umatilla, 
and  forbidding  his  return  to  the  fort.  A  little  food  was 
given  to  himself  and  child,  who  had  been  fasting  since 
Monday  night.  Whether  Mr.  McBean  would  have  allowed 
this  man  to  perish  is  uncertain :  but  certain  it  is  that  some 


CRUEL   TREATMENT    OF    FUGITIVES.  351 

base  or  cowardly  motive  made  him  exceedingly  cruel  to 
both  Hall  and  Osborne. 

While  Mr  Osborne  was  partaking  of  his  tea  and  crackers, 
there  arrived  at  the  fort  Mr.  Stanley,  the  artist,  whom  the 
reader  will  remember  having  met  in  the  mountains  several 
years  before.  When  the  case  became  known  to  him,  he 
offered  his  horses  immediately  to  go  for  Mrs.  Osborne. 
Shamed  into  an  appearance  of  humanity,  Mr.  McBean  then 
furnished  an  Indian  guide  to  accompany  Mr.  O.  to  the 
Umatilla,  where  he  still  insisted  the  fugitives  should  go, 
though  this  was  in  the  murderer's  country. 

A  little  meat  and  a  few  crackers  were  furnished  for  the 
supper  of  the  travelers ;  and  with  a  handkerchief  for  his 
hatless  head  and  a  pair  of  socks  for  his  child's  naked  feet, 
all  furnished  by  Mr.  Stanley,  Mr.  Osborne  set  out  to  return 
to  his  suffering  wife  and  children.  He  and  his  guide  trav- 
eled rapidly,  arriving  in  good  time  near  the  spot  where 
he  believed  his  family  to  be  concealed.  But  the  darkness 
had  confused  his  recollection,  and  after  beating  the  bushes 
until  daylight,  the  unhappy  husband  and  father  was  about 
to  give  up  the  search  in  despair,  when  his  guide  at  length 
discovered  their  retreat. 

The  poor  mother  and  children  were  barely  alive,  hav- 
ing suffered  much  from  famine  and  exposure,  to  say  noth- 
ing of  their  fears.  Mrs.  Osborne  was  compelled  to  be 
tied  to  the  Indian  in  order  to  sit  her  horse.  In  this  con- 
dition the  miserable  fugitives  turned  toward  the  Umatilla, 
in  obedience  to  the  command  of  McBean,  and  were  only 
saved  from  being  murdered  by  a  Cayuse  by  the  scornful 
words  of  the  guide,  who  shamed  the  murderer  from  his 
purpose  of  slaughtering  a  sick  and  defenceless  family. 
At  a  Canadian  farm-house,  where  they  stopped  to  change 
horses,  they  were  but  roughly  received ;    and  learning 

here  that  Tamt-saJe-y's  lodge  was  near  by,  Mrs.  Osborne 
23 


352  KINDNESS    OF    STICKAS. 

refused  to  proceed  any  farther  toward  the  Umatilla.  She 
said,  "  I  doubt  if  I  can  live  to  reach  the  Umatilla ;  and  if 
I  must  die,  I  may  as  well  die  at  the  gates  of  the  Fort." 
Let  us,  then,  turn  back  to  the  Fort." 

To  this  the  guide  assented,  saying  it  was  not  safe  going 
among  the  Cayuses.  The  little  party,  quite  exhausted, 
reached  Walla- Walla  about  ten  o'clock  at  night,  and  were 
at  once  admitted.  Contrary  to  his  former  course,  Mr. 
McBean  now  ordered  a  fire  made  to  warm  the  benumbed 
travelers,  who,  after  being  made  tolerably  comfortable, 
were  placed  in  a  secret  room  of  the  fort.  Again  Mr. 
Osborne  was  importuned  to  go  away,  down  to  the  Walla- 
met,  Mr.  McBean  promising  to  take  care  of  his  family 
and  furnish  him  an  outfit  if  he  would  do  so.  Upon  being 
asked  to  furnish  a  boat,  and  Indians  to  man  it,  in  order 
that  the  family  might  accompany  him,  he  replied  that  his 
Indians  refused  to  go. 

From  all  this  reluctance,  not  only  on  the  part  of  Mc- 
Bean, but  of  the  Indians  also,  to  do  any  act  which  ap- 
peared like  befriending  the  Americans,  it  would  appear 
that  there  was  a  very  general  fear  of  the  Cayuse  Indians, 
and  a  belief  that  they  were  about  to  inaugurate  a  general 
war  upon  the  Americans,  and  their  friends  and  allies.  Mr. 
Osborne,  however,  refused  to  leave  his  family  behind,  and 
Mr.  McBean  was  forced  to  let  him  remain  until  relief 
came.  When  it  did  come  at  last,  in  the  shape  of  Mr. 
Ogden's  party,  SticJcas,  the  chief  who  had  warned  Mr. 
Spalding,  showed  his  kind  feeling  for  the  sufferers  by 
removing  his  own  cap  and  placing  it  on  Mr.  Osborne's 
head,  and  by  tying  a  handkerchief  over  the  ears  of  Mr. 
Osborne's  little  son,  as  he  said,  "  to  keep  him  warm,  going 
down  the  river."  Sadly  indeed,  did  the  little  ones  who 
suffered  by  the  massacre  at  Waiilatpu,  stand  in  need  of 
any  Christian  kindness. 


CHAPTER    XXXII 

1847.  A  full  account  of  the  horrors  of  the  Waii- 
latpu  massacre,  together  with  the  individual  sufferings  of 
the  captives  whose  lives  were  spared,  would  fill  a  volume, 
and  be  harrowing  to  the  reader  ;  therefore,  only  so  much 
of  it  will  be  given  here  as,  from  its  bearing  upon  Oregon 
history,  is  important  to  our  narrative. 

The  day  following  the  massacre,  being  Tuesday,  was 
the  day  on  which  Mr.  Spalding  was  met  and  warned  not 
to  go  to  the  mission,  by  the  Vicar  General,  Brouillet. 
Happening  at  the  mission  on  that  day,  and  finding  the 
bodies  of  the  victims  still  unburied,  Brouillet  had  them 
hastily  interred  before  leaving,  if  interment  it  could  be 
called  which  left  them  still  a  prey  to  wolves.  The  reader 
of  this  chapter  of  Oregon  history  will  always  be  very  much 
puzzled  to  understand  by  what  means  the  Catholic  priests 
procured  their  perfect  exemption  from  harm  during  this  ■ 
time  of  terror  to  the  Americans.  Was  it  that  they  were 
French,  and  that  they  came  into  the  country  only  as  mis- 
sionaries of  a  religion  adapted  to  the  savage  mind,  and 
not  as  settlers  ?  Was  it  at  all  owing  to  the  fact  that  they 
were  celibates,  with  no  families  to  excite  jealous  feelings 
of  comparison  in  the  minds  of  their  converts  ? 

Through  a  long  and  bitter  war  of  words,  which  fol- 
lowed the  massacre  at  Waiilatpu,  terrible  sins  were  charged 
upon  the  priests — no  less  than  inciting  the  Indians  to  the 
murder  of  the  Protestants,  and  winking  at  the  atrocities  of 


354  EXEMPTION  OF  THE  CATHOLICS. 

every  kind  committed  by  the  savages.  Whether  they 
feared  to  enter  into  the  quarrel,  and  were  restrained  from 
showing  sympathy  solely  by  this  fear,  is  a  question  only 
themselves  can  determine.  Certain  it  is,  that  they  pre- 
served a  neutral  position,  when  to  be  neutral  was  to  seem, 
if  not  to  be,  devoid  of  human  sympathies.  That  the 
event  would  have  happened  without  any  other  provoca- 
tion than  such  as  the  Americans  furnished  by  their  own 
reckless  disregard  of  Indian  prejudices,  seems  evident. 
The  question,  and  the  only  question  which  is  suggested 
by  a  knowledge  of  all  the  circumstances,  is  whether  the 
event  was  helped  on  by  an  intelligent  outside  influence. 

It  was  quite  natural  that  the  Protestants  should  wonder 
at  the  immunity  from  danger  which  the  priests  enjoyed; 
and  that,  not  clearly  seeing  the  reason,  they  should  sus- 
pect them  of  collusion  with  the  Indians.  It  was  natural, 
too,  for  the  sufferers  from  the  massacre  to  look  for  some 
expression  of  sympathy  from  any  and  all  denominations 
of  Christians  ;  and  that,  not  receiving  it,  they  should  have 
doubts  of  the  motives  which  prompted  such  reserve. 
The  story  of  that  time  is  but  an  unpleasant  record,  and 
had  best  be  lightly  touched  upon. 

The  work  of  death  and  destruction  did  not  close  with 
the  first  day  at  Waiilatpu.  Mr.  Kimble,  who  had  re- 
mained in  the  chamber  of  the  Doctor's  house  all  night, 
had  suffered  much  from  the  pain  of  his  broken  arm.  On 
Tuesday,  driven  desperate  by  his  own  sufferings,  and  those 
of  the  three  sick  children  with  him,  one  of  whom  was  the 
little  Helen  Mar  Meek,  he  resolved  to  procure  some  water 
from  the  stream  which  ran  near  the  house.  But  he  had 
not  proceeded  more  than  a  few  rods  before  he  was  shot 
down  and  killed  instantly.  The  same  day,  a  Mr.  Young, 
from  the  saw-mill,  was  also  killed.  In  the  course  of  the 
week,  Mr.  Buiee,  who  was  sick  over  at  the  mansion,  was 
brutally  murdered. 


FATE  OF  THE  YOUXG  WOMEN.  355 

Meanwhile  the  female  captives  and  children  were  en- 
during such  agony  as  seldom  falls  to  the  lot  of  humanity 
to  suffer.  Compelled  to  work  for  the  Indians,  their  feel- 
ings were  continually  harrowed  up  by  the  terrible  sights 
which  everywhere  met  their  eyes  in  going  back  and  forth 
between  the  houses,  in  carrying  water  from  the  stream,  or 
moving  in  any  direction  whatever.  For  the  dead  were 
not  removed  until  the  setting  in  of  decay  made  it  neces- 
sary to  the  Indians  themselves. 

The  goods  belonging  to  the  mission  were  taken  from 
the  store-room,  and  the  older  women  ordered  to  make  them 
up  into  clothing  for  the  Indians.  The  buildings  were  plun- 
dered of  everything  which  the  Indians  coveted;  all  the 
rest  of  their  contents  that  could  not  be  made  useful  to 
themselves  were  destroyed.  Those  of  the  captives  who 
were  sick  were  not  allowed  proper  attention,  and  in  a  day 
or  two  Helen  Mar  Meek  died  of  neglect. 

Thus  passed  four  or  five  days.  On  Saturday  a  new 
horror  was  added  to  the  others.  The  savages  began  to 
carry  off  the  young  women  for  wives.  Three  were  thus 
dragged  away  to  Indian  lodges  to  suffer  tortures  worse 
than  death.  One  young  girl,  a  daughter  of  Mr.  Kimble, 
was  taken  possession  of  by  the  murderer  of  her  father, 
who  took  daily  delight  in  reminding  her  of  that  fact,  and 
when  her  sorrow  could  no  longer  be  restrained,  only 
threatened  to  exchange  her  for  another  young  girl  who 
was  also  a  wife  by  compulsion. 

Miss  Bulee,  the  eldest  of  the  young  women  at  the  mission, 
and  who  was  a  teacher  in  the  mission  school,  was  taken  to 
the  Umatilla,  to  the  lodge  of  Five- Crows.  As  has  before 
been  related,  there  was  a  house  on  the  Umatilla  belonging 
to  Tan-i-tan,  in  which  were  residing  at  this  time  two  Cath- 
olic priests — the  Vicar-General  Brouillet,  and  Blanchet, 
Bishop  of  Walla-Walla.     To  this  house  Mfes  Bulee  applied 


356  MISS    BULEE    AND    THE    PRIESTS. 

for  protection,  and  was  refused,  whether  from  fear,  or  from 
the  motives  subsequently  attributed  to  them  by  some 
Protestant  writers  in  Oregon,  is  not  known  to  any  but 
themselves.  The  only  thing  certain  about  it  is,  that  Miss 
Bulee  was  allowed  to  be  violently  dragged  from  their 
presence  every  night,  to  return  to  them  weeping  in  the 
morning,  and  to  have  her  entreaties  for  their  assistance 
answered  by  assurances  from  them  that  the  wisest  course 
for  her  was  to  submit.  And  this  continued  for  more  than 
two  weeks,  until  the  news  of  Mr.  Ogden's  arrival  at  Walla- 
Walla  became  known,  when  Miss  Bulee  was  told  that  if 
Five- Crows  would  not  allow  her  to  remain  at  their  house 
altogether,  she  must  remain  at  the  lodge  of  Five- Crows 
without  coming  to  their  house  at  all,  well  knowing  what 
Five- Crows  would  do,  but  wishing  to  have  Miss  Bulee's 
action  seem  voluntary,  from  shame  perhaps,  at  their  own 
cowardice.  Yet  the  reason  they  gave  ought  to  go  for  all 
it  is  worth — that  they  being  priests  could  not  have  a 
woman  about  their  house.  In  this  unhappy  situation  did 
the  female  captives  spend  three  most  miserable  weeks. 

In  the  meantime  the  mission  at  Lapwai  had  been  broken 
up,  but  not  destroyed,  nor  had  any  one  suffered  death  as 
was  at  first  feared.  The  intelligence  of  the  massacre  at 
Waiilatpu  was  first  conveyed  to  Mrs.  Spalding  by  a  Mr. 
Camfield,  who  at  the  breaking  out  of  the  massacre,  fled 
with  his  wife  and  children  to  a  small  room  in  the  attic  of 
the  mansion,  from  the  window  of  which  he  was  able  to 
behold  the  scenes  which  followed.  When  night  came  Mr. 
Camfield  contrived  to  elude  observation  and  descend  into 
the  yard,  where  he  encountered  a  French  Canadian  long 
in  the  employ  of  Dr.  Whitman,  and  since  suspected  to 
have  been  privy  to  the  plan  of  the  murders.  To  him  Mr. 
Camfield  confided  his  intention  to  escape,  and  obtained  a 
promise  that  a  horse  should  be  brought  to  a  certain  place 


ESCAPE    OF    MR.    CAMFIELD.  357 

at  a  certain  time  for  his  use.  But  the  Canadian  failing  to 
appear  with  his  horse,  Mr.  C.  set  out  on  foot,  and  under 
cover  of  night,  in  the  direction  of  the  Lapwai  mission. 
He  arrived  in  the  Nez  Perce  country  on  Thursday.  On 
the  following  day  he  came  upon  a  camp  of  these  people, 
and  procured  from  them  a  guide  to  Lapwai,  without,  how- 
ever, speaking  of  what  had  occurred  at  Waiilatpu. 

The  caution  of  Mr.  Camfield  relates  to  a  trait  of  Indian 
character  which  the  reader  of  Indian  history  must  bear  in 
mind,  that  is,  the  close  relationship  and  identity  of  feeling 
of  allied  tribes.  Why  he  did  not  inform  the  Nez  Perces 
of  the  deed  done  by  their  relatives,  the  Cayuses,  was  be- 
cause in  that  case  he  would  have  expected  them  to  have 
sympathized  with  their  allies,  even  to  the  point  of  making 
him  a  prisoner,  or  of  taking  his  life.  It  is  this  fact  concern- 
ing the  Indian  character,  which  alone  furnishes  an  excuse 
for  the  conduct  of  Mr.  McBean  and  the  Catholic  priests. 
Upon  it  Mr.  Camfield  acted,  making  no  sign  of  fear,  nor 
betraying  any  knowledge  of  the  terrible  matter  on  his 
mind  to  the  Nez  Perces. 

On  Saturday  afternoon  Mr.  C.  arrived  at  Mrs.  Spalding's 
house  and  dismissed  his  guide  with  the  present  of  a  buf- 
falo robe.  When  he  was  alone  with  Mrs.  Spalding  he 
told  his  unhappy  secret.  It  was  then  that  the  strength 
and  firmness  of  Mrs.  Spalding's  character  displayed  itself 
in  her  decisive  action.  Well  enough  she  knew  the  close 
bond  between  the  Nez  Perces  and  Cayuses,  and  also  the 
treachery  of  the  Indian  character.  But  she  saw  that  if 
affairs  were  left  to  shape  themselves  as  Mr.  Camfield 
entreated  they  might  be  left  to  do,  putting  off  the  evil 
day, — that  when  the  news  came  from  the  Cayuses,  there 
would  be  an  outbreak. 

The  only  chance  of  averting  this  danger  was  to  inform 
the  chiefs  most  attached  to  her,  at  once,  and  throw  herself 


358  HEROISM    OF   MRS.    SPALDING. 

and  her  family  upon  their  mercy.  Her  resolution  was 
taken  not  an  hour  too  soon.  Two  of  the  chiefs  most  re- 
lied upon  happened  to  be  at  the  place  that  very  afternoon, 
one  of  whom  was  called  Jacob,  and  the  other  Eagle.  To 
these  two  Mrs.  Spalding  confided  the  news  without  delay, 
and  took  counsel  of  them.  According  to  her  hopes,  they 
assumed  the  responsibility  of  protecting  her.  One  of 
them  went  to  inform  his  camp,  and  give  them  orders  to 
stand  by  Mrs.  S.,  while  the  other  carried  a  note  to  Mr. 
Craig,  one  of  our  Rocky  Mountain  acquaintances,  who 
lived  ten  miles  from  the  mission. 

Jacob  and  Eagle,  with  two  other  friendly  chiefs,  deci- 
ded that  Mrs.  S.  must  go  to  their  camp  near  Mr.  Craig's ; 
because  in  case  the  Cayuses  came  to  the  mission  as  was  to 
be  expected,  she  would  be  safer  with  them.  Mrs.  S.  how- 
ever would  not  consent  to  make  the  move  on  the  Sabbath, 
but  begged  to  be  allowed  to  remain  quiet  until  Monday. 
Late  Saturday  evening  Mr.  Craig  came  down ;  and  Mrs. 
Spalding  endeavored  with  his  assistance  to  induce  the  In- 
dians to  carry  an  express  to  Cimikain  in  the  country  of 
the  Spokanes,  where  Messrs.  Walker  and  Eells  had  a  sta- 
tion. Not  an  Indian  could  be  persuaded  to  go.  An  ef- 
fort, also,  was  made  by  the  heroic  and  suffering  wife  and 
mother,  to  send  an  express  to  Waiilatpu  to  learn  the  fate 
of  her  daughter,  and  if  possible  of  her  husband.  But  the 
Indians  were  none  of  them  inclined  to  go.  They  said, 
without  doubt  all  the  women  and  children  were  slain. 
That  Mr.  Spalding  was  alive  no  one  believed. 

The  reply  of  Mrs.  S.  to  their  objections  was  that  she 
could  not  believe  that  they  were  her  friends  if  they  would 
not  undertake  this  journey,  for  the  relief  of  her  feelings 
ander  such  circumstances.  At  length  Eagle  consented  to 
go ;  but  so  much  opposed  were  the  others  to  having  any- 
thing done  which  their  relations,  the  Cayuses,  might  be 


THE    LAPWAI   MISSION   PLUNDERED.  359 

displeased  with,  that  it  was  nearly  twenty-four  hours  be- 
fore Eagle  got  leave  to  go. 

On  Monday  morning  a  Nez  Perce  arrived  from  Waii- 
latpu  with  the  news  of  what  the  Cayuses  had  done.  With 
him  were  a  number  of  Indians  from  the  camp  where  Mr. 
Camfield  had  stopped  for  a  guide,  all  eager  for  plunder,  and 
for  murder  too,  had  not  they  found  Mrs.  Spalding  pro- 
tected by  several  chiefs.  Her  removal  to  their  camp 
probably  saved  her  from  the  fate  of  Mrs.  Whitman. 

Among  those  foremost  in  plundering  the  mission  build- 
ings at  Lapwai  were  some  of  the  hitherto  most  exemplary 
Indians  among  the  Nez  Perces.  Even  the  chief,  first  in 
authority  after  Ellis,  who  was  absent,  was  prominent  in 
these  robberies.  For  eight  years  had  this  chief,  Joseph, 
been  a  member  of  the  church  at  Lapwai,  and  sustained  a 
good  reputation  during  that  time.  How  bitter  must  have 
been  the  feelings  of  Mrs.  Spalding,  who  had  a  truly  de- 
voted missionary  heart,  when  she  beheld  the  fruit  of  her 
life's  labor  turned  to  ashes  in  her  sight  as  it  was  by  the 
conduct  of  Joseph  and  his  family. 

Shortly  after  the  removal  of  Mrs.  Spalding,  and  the  pil- 
laging of  the  buildings,  Mr.  Spalding  arrived  at  Lapwai 
from  his  long  and  painful  journey  during  which  he  had 
wandered  much  out  of  his  way,  and  suffered  many  things. 
His  appearance  was  the  signal  for  earnest  consultations 
among  the  Nez  Perces  who  were  not  certain  that  they 
might  safely  give  protection  to  him  without  the  consent 
of  the  Cayuses.  To  his  petition  that  they  should  carry  a 
letter  express  to  Fort  Colville  or  Fort  Walla- Walla,  they 
would  not  consent.  Their  reason  for  refusing  seemed  to 
be  a  fear  that  such  a  letter  might  be  answered  by  an 
armed  body  of  Americans,  who  would  come  to  avenge  the 
deaths  of  their  countrymen. 

To  deprive  them  of  this  suspicion,  Mr.  Spalding  told 


360  mr.  Spalding's  arrival  at  lapwai. 

them  that  as  he  had  been  robbed  of  everything,  he  had 
no  means  of  paying  them  for  their  services  to  his  family, 
and  that  it  was  necessary  to  write  to  Walla- Walla  for 
blankets,  and  to  the  Umatilla  for  his  horses.  He  assured 
them  that  he  would  write  to  his  countrymen  to  keep  quiet, 
and  that  they  had  nothing  to  fear  from  the  Americans. 
The  truth  was,  however,  that  he  had  forwarded  through 
Brouillet,  a  letter  to  Gov.  Abernethy  asking  for  help 
which  could  only  come  into  that  hostile  country  armed 
and  equipped  for  war. 

Late  in  the  month  of  December  there  arrived  in  Ore- 
gon City  to  be  delivered  to  the  governor,  sixty-two  cap- 
tives, bought  from  the  Cay  uses  and  Nez  Perces  by  Hud- 
son's Bay  blankets  and  goods ;  and  obtained  at  that  price 
by  Hudson's  Bay  influence.  "No  other  power  on  earth,'* 
says  Joe  Meek,  the  American,  "could  have  rescued  those 
prisoners  from  the  hands  of  the  Indians ;"  and  no  man 
better  than  Mr.  Meek  understood  the  Indian  character, 
or  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company's  power  over  them. 

The  number  of  victims  to  the  Waiilatpu  massacre  was 
fourteen.  None  escaped  who  had  not  to  mourn  a  father, 
brother,  son,  or  friend.  If  "the  blood  of  the  martyrs  is 
the  seed  of  the  church,"  there  ought  to  arise  on  the  site 
of  Waiilatpu  a  generation  of  extraordinary  piety.  As  for 
the  people  for  whom  a  noble  man  and  woman,  and  num- 
bers of  innocent  persons  were  sacrificed,  they  have  re- 
turned to  their  traditions ;  with  the  exception  of  the  Nez 
Perces,  who  under  the  leadership  of  their  old  teacher  Mr 
Spalding,  have  once  more  resumed  the  pursuits  of  civil- 
ized and  Christianized  nations. 

The  description  of  Waiilatpu  at  the  present  time  given 
on  the  following  page,  is  from  "All  Over  Oregon  and 
Washington''''  by  the  author  of  this  book. 


WAIILATPU  OF  TO-DAY.  3d 

"  "Waiilatpu  is  just  that — a  creek-bottom — the  creeks  on  either 
side  of  it  fringed  with  trees;  higher  land  shutting  out  the  view 
in  front;  isolation  and  solitude  the  most  striking  features  of 
the  place.  Yet  here  came  a  man  and  a  woman  to  live  and  to 
labor  among  the  savages,  when  all  the  old  Oregon  territory  was 
an  Indian  country.  Here  stood  the  station  erected  by  them : 
adobe  houses,  a  mill,  a  school-house  for  the  Indians,  shops, 
and  all  the  necessary  appurtenances  of  an  isolated  settlement. 
Nothing  remains  to-day  but  mounds  of  earth,  into  which  the 
adobes  were  dissolved  by  weather,  after  burning. 

"A  few  rods  away,  on  the  side  of  the  hill,  is  a  different  mound  : 
the  common  grave  of  fourteen  victims  of  savage  superstition, 
jealousy,  and  wrath.  It  is  roughly  inclosed  by  a  board  fence, 
and  has  not  a  shrub  or  a  flower  to  disguise  its  terrible  signifi- 
cance. The  most  affecting  reminders  of  wasted  effort  which 
remain  on  the  old  Mission-grounds  are  the  two  or  three  apple- 
trees  which  escaped  the  general  destruction,  and  the  scarlet 
poppies  which  are  scattered  broadcast  through  the  creek-bottom 
near  the  houses.  Sadly  significant  it  is.  that  the  flower  whose 
evanescent  bloom  is  the  symbol  of  unenduring  joys,  should  be 
the  only  tangible  witness  left  of  the  womanly  tastes  and  labors 
of  the  devoted  Missionary  who  gave  her  life  a  sacrifice  to  un- 
grateful Indian  savagery. 

"  The  place  is  occupied,  at  present,  by  one  of  Dr.  Whitman's 
early  friends  and  co-laborers,  who  claimed  the  Mission-ground, 
under  the  Donation  Act,  and  who  was  first  and  most  active  in 
founding  the  seminary  to  the  memory  of  a  Christian  gentleman 
and  martyr.  On  the  identical  spot  where  stood  the  Doctor's 
residence,  now  stands  the  more  modern  one  of  his  friend ;  and 
he  seems  to  take  a  melancholy  pleasure  in  keeping  in  remem- 
brance the  events  of  that  unhappy  time,  which  threw  a  gloom 
over  the  whole  territory  west  of  the  Rocky  Mountains." 


CHAPTER     XXXIII. 

1847-8.  When  the  contents  of  Mr.  Douglas'  letter  to 
the  governor  became  known  to  the  citizens  of  the  Walla- 
met  settlement,  the  greatest  excitement  prevailed.  On 
the  reading  of  that  letter,  and  those  accompanying  it,  be- 
fore the  House,  a  resolution  was  immediately  introduced 
authorizing  the  governor  to  raise  a  company  of  riflemen, 
not  to  exceed  fifty  in  number,  to  occupy  and  hold  the 
mission  station  at  the  Dalles,  until  a  larger  force  could  be 
raised,  and  such  measures  adopted  as  the  government 
might  think  advisable.  This  resolution  being  sent  to  the 
governor  without  delay,  received  his  approval,  when  the 
House  adjourned. 

A  large  meeting  of  the  citizens  was  held  that  evening, 
which  was  addressed  by  several  gentlemen,  among  whom 
was  Meek,  whose  taste  for  Indian  fighting  was  whetted  to 
keenness  by  the  aggravating  circumstances  of  the  Waiilat- 
pu  massacre,  and  the  fact  that  his  little  Helen  Mar  was 
among  the  captives.  Impatient  as  was  Meek  to  avenge 
the  murders,  he  was  too  good  a  mountain-man  to  give  any 
rash  advice.  All  that  could  be  done  under  the  existing 
circumstances  was  to  trust  to  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company 
for  the  rescue  of  the  prisoners,  and  to  take  such  means  for 
defending  the  settlements  as  the  people  in  their  unarmed 
condition  could  devise. 

The  legislature  undertook  the  settlement  of  the  ques- 
tion of  ways  and  means.     To  raise  money  for  the  carrying 


WAYS  AND  MEANS  OF  DEFENCE.  363 

out  of  the  most  important  measures  immediately,  was  a 
task  which  after  some  consideration  was  entrusted  to  three 
commissioners ;  and  by  these  commissioners  letters  were 
addressed  to  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company,  the  superintend- 
ent of  the  Methodist  mission,  and  to  the  "  merchants  and 
citizens  of  Oregon."  The  latter  communication  is  valua- 
ble as  fully  explaining  the  position  of  affairs  at  that  time 
in  Oregon.     It  is  dated  Dec.  17th,  and  was  as  follows : 

Gentlemen  : — You  are  aware  that  the  undersigned  have  been  charged  by 
the  legislature  of  our  provisional  government  with  the  difficult  duty  of  obtain- 
ing the  necessary  means  to  arm,  equip,  and  support  in  the  field  a  force  sufficient 
to  obtain  full  satisfaction  of  the  Cayuse  Indians,  for  the  late  massacre  at  Waiilat- 
pu,  and  to  protect  the  white  population  of  our  common  country  from  further 
aggression. 

In  furtherance  of  this  object  they  have  deemed  it  their  duty  to  make  imme- 
diate application  to  the  merchants  and  citizens  of  the  country  for  the  requisite 
assistance. 

Though  clothed  with  the  power  to  pledge,  to  the  fullest  extent,  the  faith  and 
means  of  the  present  government  of  Oregon,  they  do  not  consider  this  pledge 
the  only  security  to  those  who,  in  this  distressing  emergency,  may  extend  to  the 
people  of  this  country  the  means  of  protection  and  redress. 

Without  claiming  any  special  authority  from  the  government  of  the  United 
States  to  contract  a  debt  to  be  liquidated  by  that  power,  yet,  from  all  prece- 
dents of  like  character  in  the  history  of  our  country,  the  undersigned  feel  con- 
fident that  the  United  States  government  will  regard  the  murder  of  the  late 
Dr.  Whitman  and  his  lady,  as  a  national  wrong,  and  will  fully  justify  the  peo- 
ple of  Oregon  in  taking  active  measures  to  obtain  redress  for  that  outrage,  and 
for  their  protection  from  further  aggression. 

The  right  of  self-defence  is  tacitly  acknowledged  to  every  body  politic  in  the 
confederacy  to  which  we  claim  to  belong,  and  in  every  case  similar  to  our  own, 
within  our  knowledge,  the  general  government  has  promptly  assumed  the  pay- 
ment of  all  liabilities  growing  out  of  the  measures  taken  by  the  constituted 
authorities,  to  protect  the  fives  and  property  of  those  who  reside  within  the 
limits  of  their  districts. 

If  the  citizens  of  the  States  and  territories,  east  of  the  Rocky  mountains, 
are  justified  in  promptly  acting  in  such  emergencies,  who  are  under  the 
immediate  protection  of  the  general  government,  there  appears  no  room  for 
doubt  that  the  lawful  acts  of  the  Oregon  government  will  receive  a  like  ap- 
proval. 

Though  the  Indians  of  the  Columbia  have  committed  a  great  outrage  upon 
our  fellow  citizens  passing  through  their  country,  and  residing  among  them, 


364  FIRST    REGIMENT    OF    OREGON   RIFLEMEN. 

and  their  punishment  for  these  murders  may,  and  ought  to  be,  a  prime  object 
with  every  citizen  of  Oregon,  yet,  as  that  duty  more  particularly  devolves  upon 
the  government  of  the  United  States,  and  admits  of  delay,  we  do  not  make 
this  the  strongest  ground  upon  which  to  found  our  earnest  appeal  to  you  for 
pecuniary  assistance.  It  is  a  fact  well  known  to  every  person  acquainted  with 
the  Indian  character,  that,  by  passing  silently  over  their  repeated  thefts,  rob- 
beries, and  murders  of  our  fellow-citizens,  they  have  been  emboldened  to  the 
commission  of  the  appalling  massacre  at  Waiilatpu.  They  call  us  women, 
destitute  of  the  hearts  and  courage  of  men,  and  if  we  allow  this  wholesale  mur- 
der to  pass  by  as  former  aggressions,  who  can  tell  how  long  either  life  or  prop- 
erty will  be  secure  in  any  part  of  this  country,  or  what  moment  the  Willamette 
will  be  the  scene  of  blood  and  carnage. 

The  officers  of  our  provisional  government  have  nobly  performed  their  duty. 
None  can  doubt  the  readiness  of  the  patriotic  sons  of  the  west  to  offer  their 
personal  services  in  defence  of  a  cause  so  righteous.  So  it  now  rests  with  you, 
gentlemen,  to  say  whether  our  rights  and  our  fire-sides  shall  be  defended,  or 
not. 

Hoping  that  none  will  be  found  to  falter  in  so  high  and  so  sacred  a  duty,  we 
beg  leave,  gentlemen,  to  subscribe  ourselves, 

Your  servants  and  fellow-citizens, 

Jesse  Applegate, 
A.  L.  Lovejoy, 
Geo.  L.  Curry, 

Commissioners. 

A  similar  letter  had  been  addressed  to  the  Hudson's 
Bay  Company,  and  to  the  Methodist  mission.  From  each 
of  these  sources  such  assistance  was  obtained  as  enable^ 
the  colony  to  arm  and  equip  the  first  regiment  of  Oregon 
riflemen,  which  in  the  month  of  January  proceeded  to  the 
Cayuse  country.  The  amount  raised,  however,  was  very 
small,  being  less  than  five  thousand  dollars,  and  it  became 
imperatively  necessary  that  the  government  of  the  United 
^States  should  be  called  upon  to  extend  its  aid  and  protec- 
tion to  the  loyal  but  distressed  young  territory. 

In  view  of  this  necessity  it  was  resolved  in  the  leg- 
islature to  send  a  messenger  to  carry  the  intelligence 
vof  the  massacre  to  Gov.  Mason  of  California,  and  through 
thirn  to  the  commander  of  the  United  States  squadron 
{in  the  Pacific,  that  a  vessel  of  war  might  be  sent  into 


MEEK  APPOINTED  MESSENGER  TO  THE  UNITED  STATES.     365 

the  Columbia  River,  and  arms  and  ammunition  borrowed 
for  the  present  emergency,  from  the  nearest  arsenal. 
For  this  duty  was  chosen  Jesse  Applegate,  Esq.,  a  gentle- 
man who  combined  in  his  character  and  person  the  ability 
of  the  statesman  with  the  sagacity  and  strength  of  the 
pioneer.  Mr.  Applegate,  with  a  small  party  of  brave 
men,  set  out  in  midwinter  to  cross  the  mountains  into  Cal- 
ifornia, but  such  was  the  depth  of  snow  they  encountered 
that  traveling  became  impossible,  even  after  abandoning 
their  horses,  and  they  were  compelled  to  return. 

The  messenger  elected  to  proceed  to  the  United  States 
was  Joseph  L.  Meek,  whose  Rocky  Mountain  experiences 
eminently  fitted  him  to  encounter  the  dangers  of  such  a 
winter  journey,  and  whose  manliness,  firmness,  and  ready 
wit  stood  him  instead  of  statesmanship. 

On  the  17th  December  Meek  resigned  his  seat  in  the 
House  in  order  to  prepare  for  the  discharge  of  his  duty  as 
messenger  to  the  United  States.  On  the  4th  of  January, 
armed  with  his  credentials  from  the  Oregon  legislature, 
and  bearing  dispatches  from  that  body  and  the  Governor 
to  the  President,  he  at  length  set  out  on  the  long  and  per- 
ilous expedition,  having  for  traveling  companions  Mr. 
John  Owens,  and  Mr.  George  Ebbarts — the  latter  having 
formerly  been  a  Rocky  Mountain  man,  like  himself. 

At  the  Dalles  they  found  the  first  regiment  of  Oregon 
Riflemen,  under  Major  Lee,  of  the  newly  created  army  of 
Oregon.  From  the  reports  which  the  Dalles  Indians 
brought  in  of  the  hostility  of  the  Indians  beyond  the  Des 
Chutes  River  it  was  thought  best  not  to  proceed  before 
the  arrival  of  the  remainder  of  the  army,  when  all  the 
forces  would  proceed  at  once  to  Waiilatpu.  Owing  to 
various  delays,  the  army,  consisting  of  about  five  hundred 
men,  under  Colonel  Gilliam,  did  not  reach  the  Dalles  until 
late  in  January,  when  the  troops  proceeded  at  once  to  the 
seat  of  war. 


366  THE    ARMY    MARCHES    TO  WAIILATPU. 

The  reports  concerning  the  warlike  disposition  of  the 
Indians  proved  to  be  correct.  Already,  the  Wascopams 
or  Dalles  Indians  had  begun  robbing  the  mission  at  that 
place,  when  Colonel  Lee's  arrival  among  them  with  troops 
had  compelled  them  to  return  the  stolen  property.  As 
the  army  advanced  they  found  that  all  the  tribes  above 
the  Dalles  were  holding  themselves  prepared  for  hostilities. 
At  Well  Springs,  beyond  the  Des  Chutes  River,  they  were 
met  by  a  body  of  about  six  hundred  Indians  to  whom  they 
gave  battle,  soon  dispersing  them,  the  superior  arms  and 
equipments  of  the  whites  tending  to  render  timid  those 
tribes  yet  unaccustomed  to  so  superior  an  enemy.  From 
thence  to  Waiilatpu  the  course  of  the  army  was  unob- 
structed. 

In  the  meantime  the  captives  had  been  given  up  to  the 
Hudson's  Bay  Company,  and  full  particulars  of  the  massa- 
cre were  obtained  by  the  army,  with  all  the  subsequent 
abuses  and  atrocities  suffered  by  the  prisoners.  The  hor- 
rible details  were  not  calculated  to  soften  the  first  bitterness 
of  hatred  which  had  animated  the  volunteers  on  going 
into  the  field.  Nor  was  the  appearance  of  an  armed  force 
in  their  midst  likely  to  allay  the  hostile  feelings  with 
which  other  causes  had  inspired  the  Indians.  Had  not  the 
captives  already  been  removed  out  of  the  country,  no 
influence,  not  even  that  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company, 
could  have  prevailed  to  get  them  out  of  the  power  of  their 
captors  then.  Indeed,  in  order  to  treat  with  the  Cayuses 
in  the  first  place,  Mr.  Ogden  had  been  obliged  to  promise 
peace  to  the  Indians,  and  now  they  found  instead  of  peace, 
every  preparation  for  war.  However,  as  the  army  took 
no  immediate  action,  but  only  remained  in  their  country  to 
await  the  appearance  of  the  commissioners  appointed  by 
the  legislature  of  Oregon  to  hold  a  council  with  the  chiefs 
of  the  various  tribes,  the  Cayuses   were  forced  to  observe 


MEEK    ESCORTED    TO    THE   BLUE    MOUNTAINS.  357 

the  outward  semblance  of  amity  while  these  councils  were 
pending. 

Arrived  at  Waiilatpu,  the  friends  and  acquaintances  of 
Dr.  Whitman  were  shocked  to  find  that  the  remains  of  the 
victims  were  still  unburied,  although  a  little  earth  had 
been  thrown  over  them.  Meek,  to  whom,  ever  since  his 
meeting  with  her  in  the  train  of  the  fur-trader,  Mrs.  Whit- 
man had  seemed  all  that  was  noble  and  captivating,  had 
the  melancholy  satisfaction  of  bestowing,  with  others,  the 
last  sad  rite  of  burial  upon  such  portions  of  her  once  fair 
person  as  murder  and  the  wolves  had  not  destroyed.  Some 
tresses  of  golden  hair  were  severed  from  the  brow  so  ter- 
ribly disfigured,  to  be  given  to  her  friends  in  the  Walla- 
met  as  a  last  and  only  memorial.  Among  the  State  docu- 
ments at  Salem,  Oregon,  may  still  be  seen  one  of  these 
relics  of  the  Waiilatpu  tragedy. 

Not  only  had  Meek  to  discover  and  inter  the  remains  of 
Dr.  and  Mrs.  Whitman,  but  also  of  his  little  girl,  who  was 
being  educated  at  the  mission,  with  a  daughter  of  his 
former  leader,  Bridger. 

This  sad  duty  performed,  he  immediately  set  out,  escorted 
by  a  company  of  one  hundred  men  under  Adjutant  Wil- 
cox, who  accompanied  him  as  far  as  the  foot  of  the  Blue 
Mountains.  Here  the  companies  separated,  and  Meek 
went  on  his  way  to  Washington. 


24 


_.       CHAPTER    XXXIV. 

1848.  Mbek's  party  now  consisted  of  himself,  Ebbarts, 
Owens,  and  four  men,  who  being  desirous  of  returning  to 
the  States  took  this  opportunity.  However,  as  the  snow 
proved  to  be  very  deep  on  the  Blue  Mountains,  and  the 
cold  severe,  two  of  these  four  volunteers  became  discour- 
aged and  concluded  to  remain  at  Fort  Boise,  where  was  a 
small  trading  post  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company. 

In  order  to  avoid  trouble  with  the  Indians  he  might 
meet  on  the  western  side  of  the  Rocky  mountains,  Meek 
had  adopted  the  red  belt  and  Canadian  cap  of  the  employees 
of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company ;  and  to  this  precaution 
was  owing  the  fact  of  his  safe  passage  through  the  coun- 
try now  all  infected  with  hostility  caught  from  the  Cayuses. 
About  three  days'  travel  beyond  Fort  Boise,  the  party 
met  a  village  of  Bannack  Indians,  who  at  once  made  war- 
like demonstrations ;  but  on  seeing  Meek's  costume,  and 
receiving  an  invitation  to  hold  a  '  talk',  desisted,  and  re- 
ceived the  travelers  in  a  friendly  manner.  Meek  informed 
the  chief,  with  all  the  gravity  which  had  won  for  him  the 
name  of  "shiam  shuspusia"  among  the  Crows  in  former 
years,  that  he  was  going  on  the  business  of  the  Hudson's 
Bay  Company  to  Fort  Hall ;  and  that  Thomas  McKay  was 
a  day's  march  behind  with  a  large  trading  party,  and 
plenty  of  goods.  On  the  receipt  of  this  good  news,  the 
chief  ordered  his  braves  to  fall  back,  and  permit  the  party 
to  pass.     Yet,  fearing  the  deception  might  be  discovered, 


DEEP    SNOWS THE    HORSES   ABANDONED.  369 

they  thought  it  prudent  to  travel  day  and  night  until  they 
reached  Fort  Hall. 

At  this  post  of  the  Hudson's  Bay.  Company,  in  charge 
of  Mr.  Grant,  they  were  kindly  received,  and  stopped  for 
a  few  hours  of  rest.  Mr.  Granf  being  absent,  his  wife  pro- 
vided liberally  for  the  refreshment  of  the  party,  who  were 
glad  to  find  themselves  even  for  a  short  interval  under  a 
roof,  beside  a  fire  and  partaking  of  freshly  cooked  food. 
But  they  permitted  themselves  no  unnecessary  delay.  Be- 
fore night  they  were  once  more  on  their  way,  though 
snow  had  now  commenced  to  fall  afresh,  rendering  the 
traveling  very  difficult.  For  two  days  they  struggled  on, 
their  horses  floundering  in  the  soft  drifts,  until  further 
progress  in  that  manner  became  impossible.  The  only  al- 
ternative left  was  to  abandon  their  horses  and  proceed  on 
snow-shoes,  which  were  readily  constructed  out  of  willow 
sticks. 

Taking  only  a  blanket  and  their  rifles,  and  leaving  the 
animals  to  find  their  way  back  to  Fort  Hall,  the  little  party 
pushed  on.  Meek  was  now  on  familiar  ground,  and  the 
old  mountain  spirit  which  had  once  enabled  him  to  endtfre 
hunger,  cold,  and  fatigue  without  murmuring,  possessed 
him  now.  It  was  not  without  a  certain  sense  of  enjoy- 
ment that  he  found  himself  reduced  to  the  necessity  of 
shooting  a  couple  of  pole-cats  to  furnish  a  supper  for  him- 
self and  party.  How  long  the  enjoyment  of  feeling  want 
would  have  lasted  is  uncertain,  but  probably  only  long 
enough  to  whet  the  appetite  for  plenty. 

To  such  a  point  had  the  appetites  of  all  the  party  been 
whetted,  when,  after  several  days  of  scarcity  and  toil,  fol- 
lowed by  nights  of  emptiness  and  cold,  Meek  had  the 
agreeable  surprise  of  falling  in  with  an  old  mountain  com- 
rade on  the  identical  ground  of  many  a  former  adventure, 
the  head-waters  of  Bear  River.     This  man,  whom  Meek 


370  PEG-LEG    SMITH A   MOUNTAIN   REVEL. 

was  delighted  to  meet,  was  Peg-leg  Smith,  one  of  the 
most  famous  of  many  well-known   mountain-men.      He 
wag  engaged  in  herding  cattle  in  the  valley  of  Thomas'. 
Fork,  where  the  tall  grass  was  not  quite  buried  under 
snow,  and  had  with  him  a  party  of  ten  men. 

Meek  was  as  cordially  received  by  his  former  comrade 
as  the  unbounded  hospitality  of  mountain  manners  ren- 
dered it  certain  he  would  be.  A  fat  cow  was  immediately 
sacrificed,  which,  though  not  buffalo  meat,  as  in  former 
times  it  would  have  been,  was  very  good  beef,  and  fur- 
nished a  luxurious  repast  to  the  pole-cat  eaters  of  the 
last  several  days.  Smith's  camp  did  not  lack  the  domes- 
tic element  of  women  and  chidren,  any  more  than  had 
the  trapper's  camps  in  the  flush  times  of  the  fur-trade. 
Therefore,  seeing  that  the  meeting  was  most  joyful,  and 
full  of  reminiscences  of  former  winter  camps,  Smith 
thought  to  celebrate  the  occasion  by  a  grand  entertain- 
ment. Accordingly,  after  a  great  deal  of  roast  beef  had 
been  disposed  of,  a  dance  was  called  for,  in  which  white 
men  and  Indian  women  joined  with  far  more  mirth  and 
jollity  than  grace  or  ceremony.  Thus  passed  some  hours 
of  the  night,  the  bearer  of  dispatches  seizing,  in  true 
mountain  style,  the  passing  moment's  pleasure,  so  long  as 
it  did  not  interfere  with  the  punctilious  discharge  of  his 
duty.  And  to  the  honor  of  our  hero  be  it  said,  nothing 
was  ever  allowed  to  interfere  with  that. 

Refreshed  and  provided  with  rations  for  a  couple  of 
days,  the  party  started  on  again  next  morning,  still  on 
snow-shoes,  and  traveled  up  Bear  River  to  the  head- waters 
of  Green  River,  crossing  from  the  Muddy  fork  over  to 
Fort  Bridger,  where  they  arrived  very  much  fatigued  but 
quite  well  in  little  more  than  three  days'  travel.  Here 
again  it  was  Meek's  good  fortune  to  meet  with  his  former 
leader,  Bridger,  to  whom  he  related   what  had  befallen 


MEETING    WITH   AN    OLD    LEADER.  3^ 

him  since  turning  pioneer.  The  meeting  was  joyful  on 
both'sides,  clouded  only  by  the  remembrance  of  what  had 
brought  it  about,  and  the  reflection  that  both  had  a  per- 
sonal wrong  to  avenge  in  bringing  about  the  punishment 
of  the  Cayuse  murderers. 

Once  more  Meek's  party  were  generously  fed,  and  fur- 
nished with  such  provisions  as  they  could  carry  about 
their  persons.  In  addition  to  this,  Bridger  presented 
them  with  four  good  mules,  by  which  means  the  travelers 
were  mounted  four  at  a  time,  while  the  fifth  took  exercise 
on  foot ;  so  that  by  riding  or  walking,  turn  about,  they 
were  enabled  to  get  on  very  well  as  far  as  the  South  Pass. 
Here  again  for  some  distance  the  snow  was  very  deep, 
and  two  of  their  mules  were  lost  in  it.  Their  course  lay 
down  the  Sweetwater  River,  past  many  familiar  hunting 
and  camping  grounds,  to  the  Platte  River.  Owing  to  the 
deep  snows,  game  was  very  scarce,  and  a  long  day  of  toil 
was  frequently  closed  by  a  supperless  sleep  under  shelter 
of  some  rock  or  bank,  with  only  a  blanket  for  cover.  At 
Red  Buttes  they  were  so  fortunate  as  to  find  and  kill  a 
single  buffalo,  which,  separated  from  the  distant  herd,  was 
left  by  Providence  in  the  path  of  the  famished  travelers. 

On  reaching  the  Platte  River  they  found  the  traveling 
improved,  as  well  as  the  supply  of  game,  and  proceeded 
with  less  difficulty  as  far  as  Fort  Laramie,  a  trading  post 
in  charge  of  a  French  trader  named  Papillion.  Here 
again  fresh  mules  were  obtained,  and  the  little  party 
treated  in  the  most  hospitable  manner.  In  parting  from 
his  entertainer,  Meek  was  favored  with  this  brief  counsel : 

"  There  is  a  village  of  Sioux,  of  about  six  hundred 
lodges,  a  hundred  miles  from  here.  Your  course  will 
bring  you  to  it.  Look  out  for  yourself,  and  don't  make 
a  Gray  muss  of  it!" — which  latter  clause  referred  to  the 


372  PASSING    THE    SIOUX   VILLAGE. 

affair  of  1837,  when  the  Sioux  had  killed  the  Indian  es- 
cort of  Mr.  Gray. 

When  the  party  arrived  at  Ash  Hollow,  which  they 
meant  to  have  passed  in  the  night,  on  account  of  the 
Sioux  village,  the  snow  was  again  falling  so  thickly  that 
the  party  had  not  perceived  their  nearness  to  the  village 
until  they  were  fairly  in  the  midst  of  it.  It  was  now  no 
safer  to  retreat  than  to  proceed ;  and  after  a  moment's 
consultation,  the  word  was  given  to  keep  on.  In  truth, 
Meek  thought  it  doubtful  whether  the  Sioux  would  trouble 
themselves  to  come  out  in  such  a  tempest,  and  if  they  did 
so,  that  the  blinding  snow-fall  was  rather  in  his  favor. 
Thus  reasoning,  he  was  forcing  his  mule  through  the 
drifts  as  rapidly  as  the  poor  worried  animal  could  make 
its  way,  when  a  head  was  protruded  from  a  lodge  door, 
and  "Hallo,  Major!"  greeted  his  ear  in  an  accent  not 
altogether  English. 

On  being  thus  accosted,  the  party  came  to  a  halt,  and 
Meek  was  invited  to  enter  the  lodge,  with  his  friends. 
His  host  on  this  occasion  was  a  French  trader  named  Le 
Bean,  who,  after  offering  the  hospitalities  of  the  lodge, 
and  learning  who  were  his  guests,  offered  to  accompany 
the  party  a  few  miles  on  its  way.  This  he  did,  saying  by 
way  of  explanation  of  this  act  of  courtesy,  "  The  Sioux 
are  a  bad  people  ;  I  thought  it  best  to  see  you  safe  out 
of  the  village."  Receiving  the  thanks  of  the  travelers, 
he  turned  back  at  night-fall,  and  they  continued  on  all 
night  without  stopping  to  camp,  going  some  distance  to 
the  south  of  their  course  before  turning  east  again,  in 
order  to  avoid  any  possible  pursuers. 

Without  further  adventures,  and  by  dint  of  almost  con- 
stant travel,  the  party  arrived  at  St.  Joseph,  Mo.,  in 
safety,  in  a  little  over  two  months,  from  Portland,  Oregon. 
Soon  afterwards,  when  the  circumstances  of  this  journey 


"the  quickest  trip  yet.  '  g^g 

became  known,  a  steamboat  built  for  the  Missouri  River 
trade  was  christened  the  Joseph  L.  Meek,  and  bore  for  a 
motto,  on  her  pilot-house,  "  The  quickest  trip  yet,"  in 
reference  both  to  Meek's  overland  journey  and  her  own 
steaming  qualities. 

As  Meek  approached  the  settlements,  and  knew  that  he 
must  soon  be  thrown  into  society  of  the  highest  official 
grade,  and  be  subjected  to  such  ordeals  as  he  dreaded  far 
more  than  Indian  fighting,  or  even  traveling  express 
across  a  continent  of  snow,  the  subject  of  how  he  was  to 
behave  in  these  new  and  trying  positions  very  frequently 
occurred  to  him.  He,  an  uneducated  man,  trained  to 
mountain  life  and  manners,  without  money,  or  even 
clothes,  with  nothing  to  depend  on  but  the  importance  of 
his  mission  and  his  own  mother  wit,  he  felt  far  more 
keenly  than  his  careless  appearance  would  suggest,  the 
difficulties  and  awkwardness  of  his  position. 

"I  thought  a  great  deal  about  it,"  confesses  the  Col. 
Joseph  L.  Meek  of  to-day,  "  and  I  finally  concluded  that 
as  I  had  never  tried  to  act  like  anybody  but  myself,  I 
would  not  make  myself  a  fool  by  beginning  to  ape  other 
folks  now.  So  I  said,  '  Joe  Meek  you  always  have  been, 
and  Joe  Meek  you  shall  remain ;  go  ahead,  Joe  Meek !'  '* 

In  »fact,  it  would  have  been  rather  difficult  putting  on 
fine  gentleman  airs,  in  that  old  worn-out  hunting  suit  of 
his,  and  with  not  a  dollar  to  bless  himself.  On  the  con- 
trary, it  needed  just  the  devil-may-care  temper  which 
naturally  belonged  to  our  hero,  to  carry  him  through  the 
remainder  of  his  journey  to  Washington.  To  be  hungry, 
ill-clad,  dirty,  and  penniless,  is  sufficient  in  itself  for  the 
subduing  of  most  spirits  ;  how  it  affected  the  temper  of 
the  messenger  from  Oregon  we  shall  now  learn. 

When  the  weary  little  party  arrived  in  St.  Joseph,  they 
repaired  to  a  hotel,   and   Meek  requested  that  a  meaJ 


RECEPTION   AT    ST.    JOSEPH. 

should  be  served  for  all,  but  frankly  confessing  that  they 
had  no  money  to  pay.  The  landlord,  however,  declined 
furnishing  guests  of  his  style  upon  such  terms,  and  our 
travelers  were  forced  to  go  into  camp  below  the  town. 
Meek  now  bethought  himself  of  his  letters  of  introduc- 
tion. It  chanced  that  he  had  one  from  two  young  men 
among  the  Oregon  volunteers,  to  their  father  in  St.  Jo- 
seph. Stopping  a  negro  who  was  passing  his  camp,  he 
inquired  whether  such  a  gentleman  was  known  to  him ; 
and  on  learning  that  he  was,  succeeded  in  inducing  the 
negro  to  deliver  the  letter  from  his  sons. 

This  movement  proved  successful.  In  a  short  space  of 
time  the  gentleman  presented  himself,  and  learning  the 
situation  of  the  party,  provided  generously  for  their  pres- 
ent wants,  and  promised  any  assistance  which  might  be 
required  in  future.  Meek,  however,  chose  to  accept  only 
that  which  was  imperatively  needed,  namely,  something 
to  eat,  and  transportation  to  some  point  on  the  river 
where  he  could  take  a  steamer  for  St.  Louis.  A  portion 
of  his  party  chose  to  remain  in  St.  Joseph,  and  a  portion 
accompanied  him  as  far  as  Independence,  whither  this 
same  St.  Joseph  gentleman  conveyed  them  in  his  carriage. 

While  Meek  was  stopping  at  Independence,  he  was 
recognized  by  a  sister,  whom  he  had  not  seen  for  nineteen 
years ;  who,  marrying  and  emigrating  from  Virginia,  had 
settled  on  the  frontier  of  Missouri.  But  he  gave  himself 
no  time  for  family  reunion  and  gossip.  A  steamboat  that 
had  been  frozen  up  in  the  ice  all  winter,  was  just  about 
starting  for  St.  Louis,  and  on  board  of  this  he  went,  with 
an  introduction  to  the  captain,  which  secured  for  him 
every  privilege  the  boat  afforded,  together  with  the  kind- 
est attention  of  its  officers. 

When  the  steamer  arrived  in  St.  Louis,  by  one  of  those 
fortuitous  circumstances  so  common  in  our  hero's  career, 


ARRIVAL   AT    ST.    LOUIS. 


375 


he  was  met  at  the  landing  by  Campbell,  a  Rocky  Moun- 
tain trader  who  had  formerly  belonged  to  the  St.  Louis 
Company.  This  meeting  relieved  him  of  any  care  about 
his  night's  entertainment  in  St.  Louis,  and  it  also  had  an- 
other effect — that  of  relieving  him  of  any  further  care 
about  the  remainder  of  his  journey ;  for,  after  hearing 
Meek's  story  of  the  position  of  affairs  in  Oregon  and  his 
errand  to  the  United  States,  Campbell  had  given  the 
same  to  the  newspaper  reporters,  and  Meek,  like  Byron, 
waked  up  next  morning  to  find  himself  famous. 

Having  telegraphed  to  Washington,  and  received  the 
President's  order  to  come  on,  the  previous  evening,  our 
hero  wended  his  way  to  the  levee  the  morning  after  his 


MEEK   AS    STEAMBOAT   RUXXER. 


arrival  in  St.  Louis.     There  were  two  steamers  lying  side 
by  side,   both  up  for  Pittsburg,   with  runners  for  each, 


376        THE  VOLUNTEER  STEAMBOAT  RUNNER. 

striving  to  outdo  each  other  in  securing  passengers.  A 
bright  thought  occurred  to  the  moneyless  envoy  —  he 
would  earn  his  passage  ! 

Walking  on  board  one  of  the  boats,  which  bore  the 
name  of  The  Declaration,  himself  a  figure  which  attracted 
all  eyes  by  his  size  and  outlandish  dress,  he  mounted  to 
the  hurricane  deck  and  began  to  harrangue  the  crowd 
upon  the  levee,  in  the  voice  of  a  Stentor : 

"This  way,  gentlemen,  if  you  please.  Come  right  on 
board  the  Declaration.  I  am  the  man  from  Oregon,  with 
dispatches  to  the  President  of  these  United  States,  that 
you  all  read  about  in  this  morning's  paper.  Come  on 
board,  ladies  and  gentlemen,  if  you  want  to  hear  the  news 
from  Oregon.  I've  just  come  across  the  plains,  two 
months  from  the  Columbia  River,  where  the  Injuns  are 
killing  your  missionaries.  Those  passengers  who  come 
aboard  the  Declaration  shall  hear  all  about  it  before  they 
get  to  Pittsburg.  Don't  stop  thar,  looking  at  my  old 
wolf-skin  cap,  but  just  come  aboard,  and  hear  what  I've 
got  to  tell!" 

The  novelty  of  this  sort  of  solicitation  operated  cap- 
itally. Many  persons  crowded  on  board  the  Declaration 
only  to  get  a  closer  look  at  this  picturesque  personage 
who  invited  them,  and  many  more  because  they  were  re- 
ally interested  to  know  the  news  from  the  far  off  young 
territory  which  had  fallen  into  trouble.  So  it  chanced 
that  the  Declaration  was  inconveniently  crowded  on  this 
particular  morning. 

After  the  boat  had  got  under  way,  the  captain  ap- 
proached his  roughest  looking  cabin  passenger  and  in- 
quired in  a  low  tone  of  voice  if  he  were  really  and  truly 
the  messenger  from  Oregon. 

"  Thar's  what  I've  got  to  show  for  it ;"  answered  Meek, 
producing  his  papers. 


THE  STAGE  AGENT  AT  WHEELING.  S7T 

"  Well,  all  I  have  to  say  is,  Mr.  Meek,  that  you  are  the 
best  runner  this  boat  ever  had ;  and  you  are  welcome  to 
your  passage  ticket,  and  anything  you  desire  besides." 

Finding  that  his  bright  thought  had  succeeded  so  well, 
Meek's  spirit  rose  with  the  occasion,  and  the  passengers 
had  no  reason  to  complain  that  he  had  not  kept  his  word. 
Before  he  reached  Wheeling  his  popularity  was  immense, 
notwithstanding  the  condition  of  his  wardrobe.  At  Cin- 
cinnati he  had  time  to  present  a  letter  to  the  celebrated 

Doctor ,  who  gave  him  another,  which  proved  to  be 

an  '  open  sesame '  wherever  he  went  thereafter. 

On  the  morning  of  his  arrival  in  Wheeling  it  happened 
that  the  stage  which  then  carried  passengers  to  Cumber- 
land, where  they  took  the  train  for  Washington,  had  al- 
ready departed.  Elated  by  his  previous  good  fortune  our 
ragged  hero  resolved  not  to  be  delayed  by  so  trivial  a 
circumstance ;  but  walking  pompously  into  the  stage  office 
inquired,  with  an  air  which  must  have  smacked  strongly 
of  the  mock-heroic,  if  he  "  could  have  a  stage  for  Cum- 
berland ?" 

The  nicely  dressed,  dignified  elderly  gentleman  who 
managed  the  business  of  the  office,  regarded  the  man  who 
proffered  this  modest  request  for  a  moment  in  motionless 
silence,  then  slowly  raising  the  spectacles  over  his  eyes  to 
a  position  on  his  forehead,  finished  his  survey  with  unas- 
sisted vision.  Somewhat  impressed  by  the  manner  in 
which  Meek  bore  this  scrutiny,  he  ended  by  demanding 
"  who  are  you  ?" 

Tickled  by  the  absurdity  of  the  tableau  they  were  en- 
acting, Meek  straightened  himself  up  to  his  six  feet  two, 
and  replied  with  an  air  of  superb  self  assurance — 

w  I  am  Envoy  extraordinary  and  minister  plenipotenti- 
ary from  the  Republic  of  Oregon  to  the  Court  of  the 
United  States!" 


378  MEEK    ASTONISHES    THE    NATIVES. 

After  a  pause  in  which  the  old  gentleman  seemed  to  be 
recovering  from  some  great  surprise,  he  requested  to  see 
the  credentials  of  this  extraordinary  envoy.  Still  more 
surprised  he  seemed  on  discovering  for  himself  that  the 
personage  before  him  was  really  a  messenger  from  Oregon 
to  the  government  of  the  United  States.  But  the  effect 
was  magical.  In  a  moment  the  bell- rope  was  pulled,  and 
in  an  incredibly  short  space  of  time  a  coach  stood  at  the 
door  ready  to  convey  the  waiting  messenger  on  his  way 
to  Washington. 

In  the  meantime  in  a  conversation  with  the  stage  agent, 
Meek  had  explained  more  fully  the  circumstances  of  his 
mission,  and  the  agent  had  become  much  interested.  On 
parting,  Meek  received  a  ticket  to  the  Relay  House,  with 
many  expressions  of  regret  from  the  agent  that  he  could 
ticket  him  no  farther. 

"  But  it  is  all  the  same,"  said  he ;  "  you  are  sure  to  go 
through." 

"  Or  run  a  train  off  the  track,"  rejoined  Meek,  as  he 
was  bowed  out  of  the  office. 

It  happened  that  there  were  some  other  passengers 
waiting  to  take  the  first  stage,  and  they  crowded  into  this 
one,  glad  of  the  unexpected  opportunity,  but  wondering 
at  the  queer  looking  passenger  to  whom  the  agent  was  so 
polite.  This  scarcely  concealed  curiosity  was  all  that  was 
needed  to  stimulate  the  mad-cap  spirits  of  our  so  far  "  con- 
quering hero."  Putting  his  head  out  of  the  window  just 
at  the  moment  of  starting,  he  electrified  everybody, 
horses  included,  by  the  utterance  of  a  war-whoop  and  yell 
that  would  have  done  credit  to  a  wild  Catnanche.  Satis- 
fied with  the  speed  to  which  this  demoniac  noise  had  ex- 
cited the  driver's  prancing  steeds,  he  quietly  ensconced 
himself  in  his  corner  of  the  coach  and  waited  for  his  fel- 
low passengers  to  recover  from  their  stunned  sensations. 


THE    VICTIMIZED    CONDUCTOR.  379 

When  their  complete  recovery  had  been  effected,  there 
followed  the  usual  questioning  and  explanations,  which 
ended  in  the  inevitable  lionizing  that  was  so  much  to  the 
taste  of  this  sensational  individual. 

On  the  cars  at  Cumberland,  and  at  the  eating-houses, 
the  messenger  from  Oregon  kept  up  his  sensational  char- 
acter, indulging  in  alternate  fits  of  mountain  manners,  and 
again  assuming  a  disproportionate  amount  of  grandeur ; 
but  in  either  view  proving  himself  very  amusing.  By  the 
time  the  train  reached  the  Relay  House,  many  of  the  pas- 
sengers had  become  acquainted  with  Meek,  and  were  pre- 
pared to  understand  and  enjoy  each  new  phase  of  his 
many-sided  comicality. 

The  ticket  with  which  the  stage  agent  presented  him, 
dead-headed  him  only  to  this  point  Here  again  he  must 
make  his  poverty  a  jest,  and  joke  himself  through  to 
Washington.  Accordingly  when  the  conductor  came 
through  the  car  in  which  he,  with  several  of  his  new 
acquaintances  were  sitting,  demanding  tickets,  he  was 
obliged  to  tap  his  blanketed  passenger  on  the  shoulder 
to  attract  his  attention  to  the  "  ticket,  sir !" 

"Ha  Jco  any  me  ca,  Jianchf  said  Meek,  starting  up 
and  addressing  him  in  the  Snake  tongue. 

"Ticket,  sir!"  repeated  the  conductor,  staring. 

"  Ka  hum  pa,  hanch  f  returned  Meek,  assuming  a  look 
which  indicated  that  English  was  as  puzzling  to  him,  as 
Snake  to  other  people. 

Finding  that  his  time  would  be  wasted  on  this  singular 
passenger,  the  conductor  went  on  through  the  train ;  re- 
turning after  a  time  with  a  fresh  demand  for  his  ticket. 
But  Meek  sustained  his  character  admirably,  and  it  was 
only  through  the  excessive  amusement  of  the  passengers 
that  the  conductor  suspected  that  he  was  being  made  the 
subject  of  a  practical  joke.     At  this  stage  of  affairs  it  was 


380  ARRIVAL    AT    WASHINGTON 

privately  explained  to  him  who  and  what  his  waggish  cus- 
tomer was,  and  tickets  were  no  more  mentioned  during 
the  journey. 

On  the  arrival  of  the  train  at  Washington,  the  heart  of 
our  hero  became  for  a  brief  moment  of  time  "  very  little." 
He  felt  that  the  importance  of  his  mission  demanded  some 
dignity  of  appearance — some  conformity  to  established 
rules  and  precedents.  But  of  the  latter  he  knew  abso- 
lutely nothing ;  and  concerning  the  former,  he  realized 
the  absurdity  of  a  dignitary  clothed  in  blankets  and  a 
wolf-skin  cap.  '  Joe  Meek  I  must  remain,'  said  he  to  him- 
self, as  he  stepped  out  of  the  train,  and  glanced  along  the 
platform  at  the  crowd  of  porters  with  the  names  of  their 
hotels  on  their  hat-bands.  Learning  from  inquiry  that 
Coleman's  was  the  most  fashionable  place,  he  decided  that 
to  Coleman's  he  would  go,  judging  correctly  that  it  was 
best  to  show  no  littleness  of  heart  even  in  the  matter  of 
hotels. 


CHAPTER    XXXV. 

1848.  When  Meek  arrived  at  Coleman's  it  was  the 
dinner  hour,  and  following  the  crowd  to  the  dining  saloon, 
he  took  the  first  seat  he  came  to,  not  without  being  very- 
much  stared  at.  He  had  taken  his  cue  and  the  staring 
was  not  unexpected,  consequently  not  so  embarrassing  as 
it  might  otherwise  have  been.  A  bill  of  fare  was  laid  be- 
side his  plate.  Turning  to  the  colored  waiter  who  placed 
it  there,  he  startled  him  first  by  inquiring  in  a  low  growl- 
ing voice — 

"What's  that  boy?" 
"Bill  of  fare,  sah,"  replied  the  "boy,"  who  recognized 
the  Southerner  in  the  use  of  that  one  word. 

"Read!"  growled  Meek  again.  "The  people  in  my 
country  can't  read." 

Though  taken  by  surprise,  the  waiter,  politely  obedient, 
proceeded  to  enumerate  the  courses  on  the  bill  of  fare. 
When  he  came  to  game 

"  Stop  thar,  boy  !"  commanded  Meek,  "what  kind  of 
game  ?" 

"  Small  game,  sah." 

"Fetch  me  apiece  of  antelope,"  leaning  back  in  his 
chair  with  a  look  of  satisfaction  on  his  face. 

"  Got  none  of  that  sah ;  don't  know  what  that  ar'  sah." 

"  Don't  know !"  with  a  look  of  pretended  surprise.  "In 
my  country  antelope  and  deer  ar'  small  game ;  bear  and 
buffalo  ar'  large  game.     I  reckon  if  you  haven't  got  one. 


382  THE    MESSENGER    CREATES   A    SENSATION. 

you  havn't  got  the  other,  either.  In  that  case  you  may 
fetch  me  some  beef." 

The  waiter  disappeared  grinning,  and  soon  returned  with 
the  customary  thin  and  small  cut,  which  Meek  eyed  at  first 
contemptuously,  and  then  accepting  it  in  the  light  of  a 
sample  swallowed  it  at  two  mouthfuls,  returning  his  plate 
to  the  waiter  with  an  approving  smile,  and  saying  loud 
enough  to  be  overheard  by  a  score  of  people 

"  Boy,  that  will  do.  Fetch  me  about  four  pounds  of  the 
same  kind." 

By  this  time  the  blanketed  beef-eater  was  the  recipient 
of  general  attention,  and  the  "boy"  who  served  him  com- 
prehending with  that  quickness  which  distinguishes  ser- 
vants, that  he  had  no  ordinary  backwoodsman  to  deal  with, 
was  all  the  time  on  the  alert  to  make  himself  useful.  Peo- 
ple stared,  then  smiled,  then  asked  each  other  "  who  is  it?" 
loud  enough  for  the  stranger  to  hear.  Meek  looked  nei- 
ther to  the  right  nor  to  the  left,  pretending  not  to  hear 
the  whispering.  When  he  had  finished  his  beef,  he  again 
addressed  himself  to  the  attentive  "boy." 

"  That's  better  meat  than  the  old  mule  I  eat  in  the  moun- 
tains." 

Upon  this  remark  the  whispering  became  more  general, 
and  louder,  and  smiles  more  frequent. 

"  What  have  you  got  to  drink,  boy?"  continued  Meek, 
still  unconscious.  "  Isn't  there  a  sort  of  wine  called — 
some  kind  of  pain  ?" 

"  Champagne,  sah  ?" 

"That's  the  stuff,  I  reckon;  bring  me  some." 

While  Meek  drank  his  champagne,  with  an  occasional 
aside  to  his  faithful  attendant,  people  laughed  and  won- 
dered "  who  the  devil  it  was."  At  length,  having  finished 
his  wine,  and  overhearing  many  open  inquiries  as  to  his 
identity,  the  hero  of  many  bear-fights  slowly  arose,  and 


RECOGNIZED    BY    SENATOR   UNDERWOOD.  383 

addressing   the   company  through  the   before-mentioned 
M  boy,"  said  : 

"  You  want  to  know  who  I  am  ?" 

"  If  you  please,  sah ;  yes,  if  you  please,  sah,  for  the 
sake  of  these  gentlemen  present,"  replied  the  "boy,"  an- 
swering for  the  company. 

"Wall  then,"  proclaimed  Meek  with  a  grandiloquent 
air  quite  at  variance  with  his  blanket  coat  and  unkempt 
hair,  yet  which  displayed  his  fine  person  to  advantage,  "I 
am  Envoy  Extraordinary  and  Minister  Plenipotentiary  from 
the  Republic  of  Oregon  to  the  Court  of  the  United 
States!" 

With  that  he  turned  and  strode  from  the  room.  He 
had  not  proceeded  far,  however,  before  he  was  overtaken 
by  a  party  of  gentlemen  in  pursuit.  Senator  Underwood 
of  Kentucky  immediately  introduced  himself,  calling  the 
envoy  by  name,  for  the  dispatch  from  St.  Louis  had  pre- 
pared the  President  and  the  Senate  for  Meek's  appearance 
in  Washington,  though  it  had  not  advised  them  of  his 
style  of  dress  and  address.  Other  gentlemen  were  intro- 
duced, and  questions  followed  questions  in  rapid  succes- 
sion. 

When  curiosity  was  somewhat  abated,  Meek  expressed 
a  wish  to  see  the  President  without  delay.  To  Under- 
wood's question  as  to  whether  he  did  not  wish  to  make  his 
toilet  before  visiting  the  White  House,  his  reply  was, 
"business  first,  and  toilet  afterwards." 

"  But,"  said  Underwood,  "  even  your  business  can  wait 
long  enough  for  that." 

"  No,  that's  your  mistake,  Senator,  and  I'll  tell  you  why: 
I  can't  dress,  for  two  reasons,  both  good  ones.  I've  not 
got  a  cent  of  money,  nor  a  second  suit  of  clothes." 

The  generous  Kentuckian  offered  to  remove  the  first  of 
25 


384  VISIT   TO    THE    WHITE    HOUSE. 

the  objections  on  the  spot,  but  Meek  declined.  "I'll  see 
the  President  first,  and  hear  what  he  has  to  say  about  my 
mission."  Then  calling  a  coach  from  the  stand,  he  sprang 
into  it,  answering  the  driver's  question  of  where  he  would 
be  taken,  with  another  inquiry. 

"  Whar  should  a  man  of  my  style  want  to  go  ? — to  the 
White  House,  of  course  !"  and  so  was  driven  away  amid 
the  general  laughter  of  the  gentlemen  in  the  portico  at 
Coleman's,  who  had  rather  doubted  his  intention  to  pay 
his  respects  to  the  President  in  his  dirty  blankets. 

He  was  admitted  to  the  Presidential  mansion  by  a  mu- 
latto of  about  his  own  age,  with  whom  he  remembered 
playing  when  a  lad,  for  it  must  be  remembered  that  the 
Meeks  and  Polks  were  related,  and  this  servant  had  grown 
up  in  the  family.  On  inquiring  if  he  could  see  the  Presi- 
dent, he  was  directed  to  the  office  of  the  private  Secretary, 
Knox  Walker,  also  a  relative  of  Meek's  on  the  mother's 
side. 

On  entering  he  found  the  room  filled  with  gentlemen 
waiting  to  see  the  President,  each  when  his  turn  to  be  ad- 
mitted should  arrive.  The  Secretary  sat  reading  a  paper, 
over  the  top  of  which  he  glanced  but  once  at  the  new 
comer,  to  ask  him  to  be  seated.  But  Meek  was  not  in  the 
humor  for  sitting.  He  had  not  traveled  express  for  more 
than  two  months,  in  storm  and  cold,  on  foot  and  on  horse- 
back, by  day  and  by  night,  with  or  without  food,  as  it 
chanced,  to  sit  down  quietly  now  and  wait.  So  he  took  a 
few  turns  up  and  down  the  room,  and  seeing  that  the 
Secretary  glanced  at  him  a  little  curiously,  stopped  and 
said: 

"  I  should  like  to  see  the  President  immediately.  Just 
tell  him  if  you  please  that  there  is  a  gentleman  from  Ore- 
gon waiting  to  see  him  on  very  important  business." 


INTERVIEW    WITH    PRESIDENT    POLK. 


385 


At  the  word  Oregon,  the  Secretary  sprang  up,  dashed 
his  paper  to  the  ground,  and  crying  out  "Uncle  Joe!" 
came  forward  with  both  hands  extended  to  greet  his  long 
lost  relative. 

"Take  care,  Knox!  don't  come  too  close,"  said  Meek 
stepping  back,  "I'm  ragged,  dirty,  and — lousy." 


"TAKE   CARE,   KNOX." 

But  Walker  seized  his  cousin's  hand,  without  seeming 
fear  of  the  consequences,  and  for  a  few  moments  there 
was  an  animated  exchange  of  questions  and  answers,  which 
Meek  at  last  interrupted  to  repeat  his  request  to  be  admit- 
ted to  the  President  without  delay.  Several  times  the  Sec- 
retary turned  to  leave  the  room,  but  as  often  came  back 
with  some  fresh  inquiry,  until  Meek  fairly  refused  to  say 
another  word,  until  he  had  delivered  his  dispatches. 

When  once  the  Secretary  got  away  he  soon  returned 
with  a  request  from  the  President  for  the  appearance  of 
the  Oregon  messenger,  all  other  visitors  being  dismissed 
for  that  day.     Polk's  reception  proved  as  cordial  as  Walk- 


386  INTRODUCED  TO  THE  LADIES BADLY  FRIGHTENED. 

er's  had  been.  He  seized  the  hand  of  his  newly  found 
relative,  and  welcomed  him  in  his  own  name,  as  well  as 
that  of  messenger  from  the  distant,  much  loved,  and  long 
neglected  Oregon.  The  interview  lasted  for  a  couple  of 
hours.  Oregon  affairs  and  family  affairs  were  talked  over 
together;  the  President  promising  to  do  all  for  Oregon 
that  he  could  do ;  at  the  same  time  he  bade  Meek  make 
himself  at  home  in  the  Presidential  mansion,  with  true 
southern  hospitality. 

But  Meek,  although  he  had  carried  off  his  poverty  and 
all  his  deficiencies  in  so  brave  a  style  hitherto,  felt  his  as- 
surance leaving  him,  when,  his  errand  performed,  he  stood  i 
in  the  presence  of  rank  and  elegance,  a  mere  mountain- 
-man  in  ragged  blankets,  whose  only  wealth  consisted  of 
an  order  for  five  hundred  dollars  on  the  Methodist  mission 
in  New  York,  unavailable  for  present  emergencies.  And 
so  he  declined  the  hospitalities  of  the  White  House,  say- 
ing he  "could  make  himself  at  home  in  an  Indian  wigwam 
in  Oregon,  or  among  the  Rocky  Mountains,  but  in  the 
residence  of  the  chief  magistrate  of  a  great  nation,  he  felt 
out  of  place,  and  ill  at  ease." 

Polk,  however,  would  listen  to  no  refusal,  and  still  fur- 
ther abashed  his  Oregon  cousin  by  sending  for  Mrs.  Polk 
and  Mrs.  Walker,  to  make  his  acquaintance.     Says  Meek : 

"When  I  heard  the  silks  rustling  in  the  passage,  I  felt 
more  frightened  than  if  a  hundred  Blackfeet  had  whooped 
in  my  ear.  A  mist  came  over  my  eyes,  and  when  Mrs. 
Polk  spoke  to  me  I  couldn't  think  of  anything  to  say  in 
return." 

But  the  ladies  were  so  kind  and  courteous  that  he  soon 
began  to  see  a  little,  though  not  quite  plainly  while  their 
visit  lasted.  •  Before  the  interview  with  the  President  and 
his  family  was  ended,  the  poverty  of  the  Oregon  envoy 
became  known,  which  led  to  the  immediate  supplying  of 


THE    TWO    OREGON    REPRESENTATIVES.  38 Y 

all  his  wants.  Major  Polk  was  called  in  and  introduced ; 
and  to  him  was  deputed  the  business  of  seeing  Meek 
"  got  up"  in  a  style  creditable  to  himself  and  his  relations. 
Meek  avers  that  when  he  had  gone  through  the  hands  of 
the  barber  and  tailor,  and  surveyed  himself  in  a  full  length 
mirror,  he  was  at  first  rather  embarrassed,  being  under  the 
impression  that  he  was  being  introduced  to  a  fashionable 
and  decidedly  good-looking  gentleman,  before  whose  over, 
powering  style  he  was  disposed  to  shrink,  with  the  old  fa- 
miliar feeling  of  being  in  blankets. 

But  Meek  was  not  the  sort  of  man  to  be  long  in  getting 
used  to  a  situation  however  novel  or  difficult.  In  a  very 
short  time  he  was  au  fait  in  the  customs  of  the  capital. 
His  perfect  frankness  led  people  to  laugh  at  his  errors  as 
eccentricities ;  his  good  looks  and  natural  bonhomie  pro- 
cured him  plenty  of  admirers ;  while  his  position  at  the 
White  House  caused  him  to  be  envied  and  lionized  at 
once. 

On  the  day  following  his  arrival  the  President  sent  in  a 
message  to  Congress  accompanied  by  the  memorial  from 
the  Oregon  legislature  and  other  documents  appertaining 
to  the  Oregon  cause.  Meek  was  introduced  to  Benton, 
Oregon's  indefatigable  friend,  and  received  from  him  the 
kindest  treatment ;  also  to  Dallas,  President  of  the  Senate ; 
Douglas,  Fremont,  Gen.  Houston,  and  all  the  men  who 
had  identified  themselves  with  the  interests  of  the  West. 

It  should  be  stated  that  only  a  short  time  previous 
to  the  Waiilatpu  massacre  a  delegate  had  left  Oregon  for 
Washington,  by  ship  around  Cape  Horn,  who  had  been 
accredited  by  the  governor  of  the  colony  only,  and  that 
the  legislature  had  subsequently  passed  resolutions  expres- 
sive of  their  disapproval  of  "secret  factions,"  by  which 
was  meant  the  mission  party,  whose  delegate  Mr.  Thorn- 
ton was. 


388  THE    OREGON    BILL   IN    THE    SENATE. 

It  so  happened  that,  by  reason  of  the  commander  of  the 
Portsmouth  having  assumed  it  to  be  a  duty  to  convey  Mr. 
Thornton  from  La  Paz,  where  through  the  infidelity  of  the 
Captain  of  the  WMtton,  he  was  stranded,  he  was  enabled 
to  reach  the  States  early  in  the  Spring,  arriving  in  fact  a 
week  or  two  before  Meek  reached  Washington.  *  Thus 
Oregon  had  two  representatives,  although  not  entitled  to 
any :  nor  had  either  a  right  to  a  seat  in  either  House ;  yet 
to  one  this  courtesy  was  ■  granted,  while  the  two  together 
controlled  more  powerful  influences  than  were  ever  before 
or  since  brought  to  bear  on  the  fate  of  any  single  terri- 
tory of  the  United  States.  While  Mr.  Thornton  sat  among 
Senators  as  a  sort  of  consulting  member  or  referee,  but 
without  a  vote ;  Meek  had  the  private  ear  of  the  Presi- 
dent, and  mingled  freely  among  members  of  both  Houses, 
in  a  social  character,  thereby  exercising  a  more  immediate 
influence  than  his  more  learned  coadjutor. 

In  the  meantime  our  hero  was  making  the  most  of  his 
advantages.  He  went  to  dinners  and  champagne  suppers, 
besides  giving  an  occasional  one  of  the  latter.  At  the 
presidential  levees  he  made  himself  agreeable  to  witty  and 
distinguished  ladies,  answering  innumerable  questions 
about  Oregon  and  Indians,  generally  with  a  veil  of  reserve 
between  himself  and  the  questioner  whenever  the  inqui- 
ries became,  as  they  sometimes  would,  disagreeably  search- 
ing. Again  the  spirit  of  perversity  and  mischief  led  him 
to  make  his  answers  so  very  direct  as  to  startle  or  bewilder 
the  questioner. 

On  one  occasion  a  lady  with  whom  he  was  promenading 
a  drawing-room  at  some  Senator's  reception,  admiring  his 
handsome  physique  perhaps,  and  wondering  if  any  woman 
owned  it,  finally  ventured  the  question — was  he  married  ? 

"  Yes,  indeed,"  answered  Meek,  with  emphasis,  "  I  have 
a  wife  and  several  children.." 


KIT  CARSON THE  CONTINGENT  FUND.        38§ 

"Oh  dear,"  exclaimed  the  lady,  "  I  should  think  your 
wife  would  be  so  afraid  of  the  Indians !" 

"Afraid  of  the  Indians!"  exclaimed  Meek  in  his  turn; 
"  why,  madam,  she  is  an  Indian  herself!" 

No  further  remarks  on  the  subject  were  ventured  that 
evening ;  and  it  is  doubtful  if  the  lady  did  not  take  his 
answer  as  a  rebuke  to  her  curiosity  rather  than  the  plain 
truth  that  it  was. 

Meek  found  his  old  comrade,  Kit  Carson,  in  Washington, 
staying  with  Fremont  at  the  house  of  Senator  Benton. 
Kit,  who  had  left  the  mountains  as  poor  as  any  other  of 
the  mountain-men,  had  no  resource  at  that  time  except 
the  pay  furnished  by  Fremont  for  his  services  as  guide  and 
explorer  in  the  California  and  Oregon  expeditions ;  where, 
in  fact,  it  was  Carson  and  not  Fremont  who  deserved  fame 
as  a  path-finder.  However  that  may  be,  Carson  had  as 
little  money  as  men  of  his  class  usually  have,  and  needed 
it  as  much.  So  long  as  Meek's  purse  was  supplied,  as  it 
generally  was,  by  some  member  of  the  family  at  the  White 
House,  Carson  could  borrow  from  him.  But  one  being 
quite  as  careless  of  money  as  the  other,  they  were  some- 
times both  out  of  pocket  at  the  same  time.  In  that  case 
the  conversation  was  apt  to  take  a  turn  like  this : 

Carson.     Meek,  let  me  have  some  money,  can't  you  ? 

Meek.     I  hav  'nt  got  any  money,  Kit. 

Carson.     Go  and  get  some. 

Meek.        it,  whar  am  I  to  get  money  from  ? 

Carson.     Try  the  "contingent  fund,"  can't  you? 

Truth  to  tell  the  contingent  fund  was  made  to  pay  for 
a  good  many  things  not  properly  chargeable  to  the  neces- 
sary expenditures  of  "Envoy  Extraordinary"  like  our 
friend  from  Oregon. 

The  favoritism  with  which  our  hero  was  everywhere  re- 
ceived was  something  remarkable,  even  when  all  the  cir- 


390  GRAND  RECEPTION  AT  BALTIMORE. 

cumstances  of  his  relationship  to  the  chief  magistrate,  and 
the  popularity  of  the  Oregon  question  were  considered. 
Doubtless  the  novelty  of  having  a  bear-fighting  and  In- 
dian-fighting Rocky  Mountain  man  to  lionize,  was  one 
great  secret  of  the  furore  which  greeted  him  wherever  he 
went ;  but  even  that  fails  to  account  fully  for  the  enthu- 
siasm he  awakened,  since  mountain-men  had  begun  to  be 
pretty  well  known  and  understood,  from  the  journal  of 
Fremont  and  other  explorers.  It  could  only  have  been 
the  social  genius  of  the  man  which  enabled  him  to  over- 
come the  impediments  of  lack  of  education,  and  the  asso- 
ciations of  half  a  lifetime.  But  whatever  was  the  fortu- 
nate cause  of  his  success,  he  enjoyed  it  to  the  full.  He 
took  excursions  about  the  country  in  all  directions, 
petted  and  spoiled  like  any  "curled  darling"  instead  of 
the  six-foot-two  Rocky  Mountain  trapper  that  he  was. 

In  June  he  received  an  invitation  to  Baltimore,  tender- 
ed by  the  city  council,  and  was  received  by  that  body 
with  the  mayor  at  its  head,  in  whose  carriage  he  was  con- 
veyed to  Monument  Square,  to  be  welcomed  by  a  thou- 
sand ladies,  smiling  and  showering  roses  upon  him  as  he 
passed.  And  kissing  the  roses  because  he  could  not  kiss 
the  ladies,  he  bowed  and  smiled  himself  past  the  festive 
groups  waiting  to  receive  the  messenger  from  Oregon. 
Music,  dining,  and  the  parade  usual  to  such  occasions 
distinguished  this  day,  which  Meek  declares  to  have  been 
the  proudest  of  his  life  ;  not  denying  that  the  beauty  of 
the  Baltimore  ladies  contributed  chiefly  to'  produce  that 
impression. 

On  the  fourth  of  July,  Polk  laid  the  corner  stone  of  the 
National  Monument.  The  occasion  was  celebrated  with 
great  eclat,  the  address  being  delivered  by  Winthrop,  the, 
military  display,  and  the  fire-works  in  the  evening  being 
unusually  fine.     In  the  procession  General  Scott  and  stafl 


P., I 


rjS8 


THE  LOWELL  FACTORY  GIRLS NATURAL  REGRETS.   391 

rode  on  one  side  of  the  President's  carriage,  Col.  May  and 
Meek  on  the  other, — Meek  making  a  great  display  of 
horsemanship,  in  which  as  a  mountain-man  he  excelled. 

A  little  later  in  the  summer  Meek  joined  a  party  of  Con- 
gressmen who  were  making  campaign  speeches  in  the 
principal  cities  of  the  north.  At  Lowell,  Mass.,  he  visited 
the  cotton  factories,  and  was  equally  surprised  at  the  ex- 
tent of  the  works,  and  the  number  of  young  women  em- 
ployed in  them.  Seeing  this,  the  forewoman  requested 
him  to  stop  until  noon  and  see  the  girls  come  out.  As 
they  passed  in  review  before  him,  she  asked  if  he  had 
made  his  choice. 

"No,"  replied  the  gallant  Oregonian,  " it  would  be  im- 
possible to  choose,  out  of  such  a  lot  as  that ;  I  should  have 
to  take  them  all." 

If  our  hero,  under  all  his  gaity  smothered  a  sigh  of  re- 
gret that  he  was  not  at  liberty  to  take  one — a  woman  like 
those  with  whom  for  the  first  time  in  his  life  he  was  privi- 
leged to  associate — who  shall  blame  him  ?  The  kind  of 
life  he  was  living  now  was  something  totally  different  to 
anything  in  the  past.  It  opened  to  his  comprehension 
delightful  possibilities  of  what  might  have  been  done  and 
enjoyed  under  other  circumstances,  yet  which  now  never 
could  be  done  or  enjoyed,  until  sometimes  he  was  ready 
to  fly  from  all  these  allurements,  and  hide  himself  again 
in  the  Rocky  Mountains.  Then  again  by  a  desperate  effort, 
such  thoughts  were  banished,  and  he  rushed  more  eagerly 
than  before  into  every  pleasure  afforded  by  the  present 
moment,  as  if  to  make  the  present  atone  for  the  past  and 
the  future. 

The  kindness  of  the  ladies  at  the  White  House,  while  it 
was  something  to  be  grateful  for,  as  well  as  to  make  him 
envied,  often  had  the  effect  to  disturb  his  tranquility  by 
the  suggestions  it  gave  rise  to.     Yet  he  was  always  de- 


392       COMMODORE  WILKES "  OREGON  LIES. 

manding  it,  always  accepting  it.  So  constantly  was  he 
the  attendant  of  his  lady  cousins  in  public  and  in  private, 
riding  and  driving,  or  sauntering  in  the  gardens  of  the 
presidential  mansion,  that  the  less  favored  among  their 
acquaintances  felt  called  upon  to  believe  themselves  ag- 
grieved. Often,  as  the  tall  form  of  our  hero  was  seen 
with  a  lady  on  either  arm  promenading  the  gardens  at 
evening,  the  question  would  pass  among  the  curious  but 
uninitiated — "  Who  is  that  ?"     And  the  reply  of   some 

jealous  grumbler  would  be — "It  is  that     Rocky 

Mountain  man,"  so  loud  sometimes  as  to  be  overheard  by 
the  careless  trio,  who  smothered  a  laugh  behind  a  hat  or 
a  fan. 

And  so  passed  that  brief  summer  of  our  hero's  life.  A 
great  deal  of  experience,  of  sight-seeing,  and  enjoyment 
had  been  crowded  into  a  short  few  months  of  time.  He 
had  been  introduced  to  and  taken  by  the  hand  by  the 
most  celebrated  men  of  the  day.  Nor  had  he  failed  to 
meet  with  men  whom  he  had  known  in  the  mountains  and 
in  Oregon.  His  old  employer,  Wilkes,  who  was  ill  in 
Washington,  sent  for  him  to  come  and  tell  "  some  of  those 
Oregon  lies"  for  his  amusement,  and  Meek,  to  humor  him, 
stretched  some  of  his  good  stories  to  the  most  wonderful 
dimensions. 

But  from  the  very  nature  of  the  enjoyment  it  could  not 
last  long ;  it  was  too  vivid  and  sensational  for  constant 
wear.  Feeling  this,  he  began  to  weary  of  Washington, 
and  more  particularly  since  he  had  for  the  last  few  weeks 
been  stopping  away  from  the  White  House.  In  one  of  his 
restless  moods  he  paid  a  visit  to  Polk,  who  detecting  the 
state  of  his  mind  asked  laughingly 

"Well,  Meek,  what  do  you  want  now?" 

"I  want  to  be  franked." 

"How  long  will  five  hundred  dollars  last  you?" 


EXTRAVAGANT    HABITS. 


393 


"About  as  many  days  as  there  ar'  hundreds,  I  reckon." 

"  You  are  shockingly  extravagant,  Meek.  Where  do 
you  think  all  this  money  is  to  come  from  ?" 

"  It  is  not  my  business  to  know,  Mr.  President,"  replied 
Meek,  laughing,  "  but  it  is  the  business  of  these  United 
States  to  pay  the  expenses  of  the  messenger  from  Oregon, 
isn't  it?" 

"  I  think  I  will  send  you  to  the  Secretary  of  "War  to  be 
franked,  Meek ;  his  frank  is  better  than  mine.  But  no, 
stay ;  I  will  speak  to  Knox  about  it  this  time.  And  you 
must  not  spend  your  money  so  recklessly,  Meek ;  it  will 
not  do — it  will  not  do." 

Meek  thanked  the  President  both  for  the  money  and  the 
advice,  but  gave  a  champagne  supper  the  next  night,  and 
in  a  week's  time  was  as  empty-handed  as  ever. 

The  close  of  the  session  was  at  hand  and  nothing  had 
been  done  except  to  talk.  Congress  was  to  adjourn  at 
noon  on  Monday,  August  14th,  and  it  was  now  Saturday 
the  12th.  The  friends  of  Oregon  were  anxious;  the  two 
waiting  Oregonians  nearly  desperate.  On  this  morning 
of  the  12th,  the  friends  of  the  bill,  under  Benton's  lead,  de- 
termined upon  obtaining  a  vote  on  the  final  passage  of  the 
bill ;  resolving  that  they  would  not  yield  to  the  usual  mo- 
tions for  delay  and  adjournments,  but  that  they  would,  if 
necessary,  sit  until  twelve  o'clock  Monday. 

Saturday  night  wore  away;  the  Sabbath  morning's 
sun  arose ;  and  at  last,  two  hours  after  sunrise,  a  consul- 
tation was  held  between  Butler,  Mason,  Calhoun,  Davis, 
and  Foote,  which  resulted  in  the  announcement  that  no 
further  opposition  would  be  offered  to  taking  the  vote 
upon  the  final  passage  of  the  Oregon  bill.  The  vote 
was  then  taken,  the  bill  passed,  and  the  weary  Senate 
adjourned,  to  meet  again  on  Monday  for  a  final  adjourn- 
ment. 


CHAPTER    XXXVI. 

1848-9.  The  long  suspense  ended,  Meek  prepared  to 
return  to  Oregon,  if  not  without  some  regrets,  at  the  same 
time  not  unwillingly.  His  restless  temper,  and  life-long 
habits  of  unrestrained  freedom  began  to  revolt  against  the 
conventionality  of  his  position  in  Washington.  Besides, 
in  appointing  officers  for  the  new  territory,  Polk  had  made 
him  United  States  Marshal,  than  which  no  office  could 
have  suited  him  better,  and  he  was  as  prompt  to  assume 
the  discharge  of  its  duties,  as  all  his  life  he  had  been  to 
undertake  any  duty  to  which  his  fortunes  assigned  him. 

On  the  20th  of  August,  only  six  days  after  the  passage 
of  the  territorial  bill,  he  received  his  papers  from  Buchan- 
an, and  set  off  for  Bedford  Springs,  whither  the  family 
from  the  White  House  were  flown  to  escape  from  the  suf- 
focating air  of  Washington  in  August.  He  had  brought 
his  papers  to  be  signed  by  Polk,  and  being  expected  by 
the  President  found  everything  arranged  for  his  speedy 
departure  ;  Polk  even  ordering  a  seat  for  him  in  the  up- 
coming coach,  by  telegraph.  On  learning  this  from  the 
President,  at  dinner,  when  the  band  was  playing,  Meek 
turned  to  the  leader  and  ordered  him  to  play  "  Sweet 
Home,"  much  to  the  amusement  of  his  lady  cousins,  who 
had  their  own  views  of  the  sweets  of  a  home  in  Oregon. 
A  hurried  farewell,  spoken  to  each  of  his  friends  sepa- 
rately, and  Oregon's  new  Marshal  was  ready  to  proceed 
on  his  long  journey  toward  the  Pacific. 


PAY    OF    THE    DELEGATES THE    LION  S    SHARE.  395 

The  occasion  of  Polk's  haste  in  the  matter  of  getting 
Meek  started,  was  his  anxiety  to  have  the  Oregon  govern- 
ment become  a  fact  before  the  expiratkm  of  his  term  .of 
office.  The  appointment  of  Governor  of  the  new  terri- 
tory had  been  offered  to  Shields,  and  declined.  Another , 
commission  had  been  made  out,  appointing  General  Jo- 
seph Lane  of  Indiana,  Governor  of  Oregon,  and  the  com- 
mission was  that  day  signed  by  the  President  and  given 
to  Meek  to  be  delivered  to  Lane  in  the  shortest  possible 
time.  His  last  words  to  the  Marshal  on  parting  were — 
"  God  bless  you,  Meek.  Tell  Lane  to  have  a  territorial 
government  organized  during  my  administration.' ' 

Of  the  ten  thousand  dollars  appropriated  by  Congress 
"to  be  expended  under  the  direction  of  the  President,  in 
payment  for  services  and  expenses  of  such  persons  as  had 
been  engaged  by  the  provisional  government  of  Oregon 
in  conveying  communications  to  and  from  the  United 
States;  and  for  purchase  of  presents  for  such  Indian 
tribes  as  the  peace  and  quiet  of  the  country  required" — 
Thornton  received  two  thousand  six  hundred  dollars, 
Meek  seven  thousand  four  hundred,  and  the  Indian  tribes 
none.  Whether  the  President  believed  that  the  peace 
and  quiet  of  the  country  did  not  require  presents  to  be 
made  to  the  Indians,  or  whether  family  credit  required 
that  Meek  should  get  the  lion's  share,  is  not  known.  How- 
ever that  may  be,  our  hero  felt  himself  to  be  quite  rich, 
and  proceeded  to  get  rid  of  his  superfluity,  as  will  hereafter 
be  seen,  with  his  customary  prodigality  and  enjoyment  of 
the  present  without  regard  to  the  future. 

Before  midnight  on  the  day  of  his  arrival  at  the  springs, 
Meek  was  on  his  way  to  Indiana  to  see  General  Lane.  Ar- 
riving at  the  Newburg  landing  one  morning  at  day-break, 
he  took  horse  immediately  for  the  General's  residence  at 
Newburg,  and  presented  him  with  his  commission  soon 


396      GOVERNOR  AND  MARSHAL  START  FOR  OREGON. 

after  breakfast.  Lane  sat  writing,  when  Meek,  introducing 
himself,  laid  his  papers  before  him. 

" Do  you  accept?"  asked  Meek. 

"Yes,"  answered  Lane. 

"How  soon  can  you  be  ready  to  start  ?" 

"In  fifteen  minutes!"  answered  Lane,  with  military 
promptness. 

Three  days,  however,  were  actually  required  to  make  the 
necessary  preparations  for  leaving  his  farm  and  proceed- 
ing to  the  most  remote  corner  of  the  United  States  terri- 
tory. 

At  St.  Louis  they  were  detained  one  day,  waiting  for  a 
boat  to  Leavenworth,  where  they  expected  to  meet  their 
escort.  This  one  day  was  too  precious  to  be  lost  in  wait- 
ing by  so  business-like  a  person  as  our  hero,  who,  when 
nothing  more  important  was  to  be  done  generally  was 
found  trying  to  get  rid  of  his  money.  So,  on  this  occa- 
sion, after  having  disburdened  himself  of  a  small  amount 
in  treating  the  new  Governor  and  all  his  acquaintances,  he 
entered  into  negotiations  with  a  peddler  who  was  impor- 
tuning the  passengers  to  buy  everything,  from  a  jack- 
knife  to  a  silk  dress. 

Finding  that  Nat.  Lane,  the  General's  son,  wanted  a 
knife,  but  was  disposed  to  beat  down  the  price,  Meek 
made  an  offer  for  the  lot  of  a  dozen  or  two,  and  thereby 
prevented  Lane  getting  one  at  any  price.  Not  satisfied 
with  this  investment,  he  next  made  a  purchase  of  three 
whole  pieces  of  silk,  at  one  dollar  and  fifty  cents  per  yard. 
At  this  stage  of  the  transaction  General  Lane  interfered 
sufficiently  to  inquire  "  what  he  expected  to  do  with  that 
stuff?" 

"  Can't  tell,"  answered  Meek  ;  "  but  I  reckon  it  is  worth 
the  money." 

**  Better  save  your  money,"  said  the  more  prudent  Lane. 


THE    ESCORT    OF    RIFLEMEN THE    ROUTE. 


397 


But  the  incorrigible  spendthrift  only  laughed,  and  threat- 
ened to  buy  out  the  Jew's  entire  stock,  if  Lane  persisted 
in  preaching  economy. 

At  St.  Louis,  besides  his  son  Nat.,  Lane  was  met  by 
Lieut.  Hawkins,  who  was  appointed  to  the  command  of 
the  escort  of  twenty-five  riflemen,  and  Dr.  Hayden,  sur- 
geon of  the  company.  This  party  proceeded  to  Leaven- 
worth, the  point  of  starting,  where  the  wagons  and  men 
of  Hawkins'  command  awaited  them.  At  this  place,  Meek 
was  met  by  a  brother  and  two  sisters  who  had  come  to 
look  on  him  for  the  first  time  in  many  years.  The  two 
days'  delay  which  was  necessary  to  get  the  train  ready  for 
a  start,  afforded  an  opportunity  for  this  family  reunion,  the 
last  that  might  ever  occur  between  its  widely  separated 
branches,  new  shoots  from  which  extend  at  this  day  from 
Virginia  to  Alabama,  and  from  Tennessee  to  California 
and  Oregon. 

By  the  10th  of  September  the  new  government  was  on 
its  way  to  Oregon  in  the  persons  of  Lane  and  Meek.  The 
whole  company  of  officers,  men,  and  teamsters,  numbered 
about  fifty -five ;  the  wagons  ten ;  and  riding-horses,  an 
extra  supply  for  each  rider. 

The  route  taken,  with  the  object  to  avoid  the  snows  of 
a  northern  winter,  was  from  Leavenworth  to  Santa  Fe, 
and  thence  down  the  Rio  Grande  to  near  El  Paso ;  thence 
northwesterly  by  Tucson,  in  Arizona;  thence  to  the 
)?imas  village  on  the  Gila  River ;  following  the  Gila  to  its 
junction  with  the  Colorado,  thence  northwesterly  again  to 
the  Bay  of  San  Pedro  in  California.  From  this  place  the 
company  were  to  proceed  by  ship  to  San  Francisco  ;  and 
thence  again  by  ship  to  the  Columbia  River. 

On  the  Santa  Fe  trail  they  met  the  army  returning 
from  Mexico,  under  Price,  and  learned  from  them  that 
they  could  not  proceed  with  wagons  beyond  Santa  Fe. 


398 


PRICE  S   ARMY AN   ADVENTURE. 


The  lateness  of  the  season,  although  it  was  not  attended 
with  snow,  as  on  the  northern  route  it  would  have  been, 
subjected  the  travelers  nevertheless  to  the  strong,  cold 
winds  which  blow  over  the  vast  extent  of  open  country 
between  the  Missouri  River  and  the  high  mountain  range 
which  forms  the  water-shed  of  the  continent.  It  also 
made  it  more  difficult  to  subsist  the  animals,  especially 
after  meeting  Price's  army,  which  had  already  swept  the 
country  bare. 

On  coming  near  Santa  Fe,  Meek  was  riding  ahead  of 
his  party,  when  he  had  a  most  unexpected  encounter. 
Seeing  a  covered  traveling  carriage  drawn  up  under  the 
shade  of  some  trees  growing  beside  a  small  stream,  not 
far  off  from  the  trail,  he  resolved,  with  his  usual  love  of 
adventure,  to  discover  for  himself  the  character  of  the 
proprietor.  But  as  he  drew  nearer,  he  discovered  no 
one,  although  a  camp-table  stood  under  the  trees,  spread 
with  refreshments,  not  only  of  a  solid,  but  a  fluid  nature. 
The  sight  of  a  bottle  of  cognac  induced  him  to  dismount, 
and  he  was  helping  himself  to  a  liberal  glass,  when  a 
head  was  protruded  from  a  covering  of  blankets  inside 
the  carriage,  and  a  heavy  bass  voice  was  heard  in  a  polite 
protest : 

"  Seems  to  me,  stranger,  you  are  making  free  with  my 
property !" 

"  Here's  to  you,  sir,"  rejoined  the  purloiner  ;  "  it  isn't 
often  I  find  as  good  brandy  as  that," — holding  out  the 
glass  admiringly, — "  but  when  I  do,  I  make  it  a  point  of 
honor  not  to  pass  it." 

"May  I  inquire  your  name,  sir?"  asked  the  owner  of 
the  brandy,  forced  to  smile  at  the  good-humored  audacity 
of  his  guest. 

"  I  couldn't  refuse  to  give  my  name  after  that," — re- 
placing the  glass  on  the  table, — "and  I  now  introduce 


A   PLEASANT   AND    UNEXPECTED    ENCOUNTER.  399 

myself  as  Joseph  L.  Meek,  Esq.,  Marshal  of  Oregon,  on 
my  way  from  Washington  to  assist  General  Lane  in  estab- 
lishing a  territorial  Government  west  of  the  Rocky  Moun- 
tains." 

"  Meek ! — what,  not  the  Joe  Meek  I  have  heard  my 
brothers  tell  so  much  about  ?" 

"  Joe  Meek  is  my  name  ;  but  whar  did  your  brothers 
know  me  ?"  inquired  our  hero,  mystified  in  his  turn. 

"I  think  you  must  have  known  Captain  William  Sub- 
lette and  his  brother  Milton,  ten  or  twelve  years  ago,  in 
the  Rocky  Mountains,"  said  the  gentleman,  getting  out  of 
the  carriage,  and  approaching  Meek  with  extended  hand. 

A  delighted  recognition  now  took  place.  From  Solo- 
mon Sublette,  the  owner  of  the  carriage  and  the  cognac, 
Meek  learned  many  particulars  of  the  life  and  death  of 
his  former  leaders  in  the  mountains.  Neither  of  them 
were  then  living ;  but  this  younger  brother,  Solomon, 
had  inherited  Captain  Sublette's  wife  and  wealth  at  the 
same  time.  After  these  explanations,  Mr.  Sublette  raised 
the  curtains  of  the  carriage  again,  and  assisted  to  descend 
from  it  a  lady,  whom  he  introduced  as  his  wife,  and  who 
exhibited  much  gratification  in  becoming  acquainted  with 
the  hero  of  many  a  tale  recited  to  her  by  her  former  hus- 
band, Captain  Sublette. 

In  the  midst  of  this  pleasant  exchange  of  reminiscences, 
the  remainder  of  Meek's  party  rode  up,  were  introduced, 
and  invited  to  regale  themselves  on  the  fine  liquors  with 
which  Mr.  Sublette's  carriage  proved  to  be  well  furnished. 
This  little  adventure  gave  our  hero  much  pleasure,  as 
furnishing  a  link  between  the  past  and  present,  and  bring- 
ing freshly  to  mind  many  incidents  already  beginning  to 
fade  in  his  memory. 

At  Santa  Fe,  the  train  stopped  to  be  overhauled  and 
reconstructed.      The  wagons  having  to  be  abandoned, 
26 


400  DESERTION    OF    SOLDIERS DROUTH. 

their  contents  had  to  be  packed  on  mules,  after  the  man- 
ner of  mountain  or  of  Mexican  travel  and  transportation. 
This  change  accomplished,  with  as  little  delay  as  possible, 
the  train  proceeded  without  any  other  than  the  usual 
difficulties,  as  far  as  Tucson,  when  two  of  the  twenty-five 
riflemen  deserted,  having  become  suddenly  enamored  of 
liberty,  in  the  dry  and  dusty  region  of  southern  Arizona. 

Lieutenant  Hawkins,  immediately  on  discovering  the 
desertion,  dispatched  two  men,  well  armed,  to  compel 
their  return.  One  of  the  men  detailed  for  this  duty  be- 
longed to  the  riflemen,  but  the  other  was  an  America^ 
who,  with  a  company  of  Mexican  packers,  had  joined  the 
train  at  Santa  Fe,  and  was  acting  in  the  capacity  of  pilot. 
In  order  to  fit  out  this  volunteer  for  the  service,  always 
dangerous,  of  retaking  deserting  soldiers,  Meek  had  lent 
him  his  Colt's  revolvers.  It  was  a  vain  precaution,  how- 
ever, both  the  men  being  killed  in  attempting  to  capture 
the  deserters  ;  and  Meek's  pistols  were  never  more  heard 
of,  having  fallen  into  the  murderous  hands  of  the  run- 
aways. 

Drouth  now  began  to  be  the  serious  evil  with  which 
the  travelers  had  to  contend.  From  the  Pimas  villages 
westward,  it  continually  grew  worse,  the  animals  being 
greatly  reduced  from  the  want  both  of  food  and  water. 
At  the  crossing  of  the  Colorado,  the  animals  had  to  be 
crossed  over  by  swimming,  the  officers  and  men  by  rafts 
made  of  bulrushes.  Lane  and  Meek  being  the  first  to  be 
ferried  over,  were  landed  unexpectedly  in  the  midst  of  a 
Yuma  village.  The  Indians,  however,  gave  them  no 
trouble,  and,  except  the  little  artifice  of  drowning  some 
of  the  mules  at  the  crossing,  in  order  to  get  their  flesh  to 
eat,  committed  neither  murders  nor  thefts,  nor  any  out- 
rage whatever. 

It  was   quite  as  well   for  the   unlucky  mules  to   be 


DEMORALIZATION   OF    THE    ESCORT.  401 

drowned  and  eaten  as  it  was  for  their  fellows  to  travel  on 
over  the  arid  desert  before  them  until  they  starved  and 
perished,  which  they  nearly  all  did.  From  the  Colorado 
on,  the  company  of  Lieut.  Hawkins  became  thoroughly 
demoralized.  Not  only  would  the  animals  persist  in 
dying,  several  in  a  day,  but  the  soldiers  also  persisted  in 
deserting,  until,  by  the  time  he  reached  the  coast,  his  for- 
lorn hope  was  reduced  to  three  men.  But  it  was  not  the 
drouth  in  their  case  which  caused  the  desertions :  it  was 
rumors  which  they  heard  everywhere  along  the  route,  of 
mines  of  gold  and  silver,  where  they  nattered  themselves 
they  could  draw  better  pay  than  from  Uncle  Sam's  coffers. 

The  same  difficulty  from  desertion  harassed  Lieutenant- 
Colonel  Loring  in  the  following  summer,  when  he  at- 
tempted to  establish  a  line  of  posts  along  the  route  to 
Oregon,  by  the  way  of  Forts  Kearney,  Laramie,  and 
through  the  South  Pass  to  Fort  Hall.  His  mounted  rifle 
regiment  dwindled  down  to  almost  nothing.  At  one 
time,  over  one  hundred  men  deserted  in  a  body :  and  al- 
though he  pursued  and  captured  seventy  of  them,  he 
could  not  keep  them  from  deserting  again  at  the  first 
favorable  moment.  The  bones  of  many  of  those  gold- 
seeking  soldiers  were  left  on  the  plains,  where  wolves  had 
stripped  the  flesh  from  them ;  and  many  more  finally  had 
rude  burial  at  the  hands  of  fellow  gold-seekers :  but  few 
indeed  ever  won  or  enjoyed  that  for  which  they  risked 
everything. 

On  arriving  at  Cook's  wells,  some  distance  beyond  the 
Colorado,  our  travelers  found  that  the  water  at  this  place 
was  tainted  by  the  body  of  a  mule  which  had  lost  its  life 
some  days  before  in  endeavoring  to  get  at  the  water. 
This  was  a  painful  discovery  for  the  thirsty  party  to  make. 
However,  there  being  no  water  for  some  distance  ahead, 
General  Lane  boiled  some  of  it,  and  made  coffee  of  it, 


402  THE    PARTY   ON   FOOT EXTREME    SUFFERING. 

remarking  that  "maggots  were   more   easily   swallowed 
cooked  than  raw!" 

And  here  the  writer,  and  no  doubt,  the  reader  too,  is 
compelled  to  make  a  reflection.  Was  the  office  of  Gover- 
nor of  a  Territory  at  fifteen  hundred  dollars  a  year,  and 
Indian  agent  at  fifteen  hundred  more,  worth  a  journey  of 
over  three  thousand  miles,  chiefly  by  land,  even  allowing 

that  there  had  been  no  maggots  in  the  water  ?     Quien 
sabe? 

Not  far  from  this  locality  our  party  came  upon  one  hun- 
dred wagons  abandoned  by  Major  Graham,  who  had  not 
been  able  to  cross  the  desert  with  them.  Proceeding  on- 
ward, the  riders  eventually  found  themselves  on  foot,  there 
being  only  a  few  animals  left  alive  to  transport  the  bag- 
gage that  could  not  be  abandoned.  So  great  was  their 
extremity,  that  to  quench  their  thirst  the  stomach  of  a 
mule  was  opened  to  get  at  the  moisture  it  contained.  In 
the  horror  and  pain  of  the  thirst-fever,  Meek  renewed 
again  the  sufferings  he  had  undergone  years  before  in  the 
deserts  inhabited  by  Diggers,  and  on  the  parched  plains 
of  the  Snake  River. 

About  the  middle  of  January  the  Oregon  Government, 
which  had  started  out  so  gaily  from  Fort  Leavenworth, 
arrived  weary,  dusty,  foot-sore,  famished,  and  suffering,  at 
William's  Ranch  on  the  Santa  Anna  River,  which  empties 
.'into  the  Bay  of  San  Pedro.  Here  they  were  very  kindly 
received,  and  their  wants  ministered  to. 

At  this  place  Meek  developed,  in  addition  to  his  various 
accomplishments,  a  talent  for  speculation.  While  over- 
hauling his  baggage,  the  knives  and  the  silk  which  had 
been-  purchased  of  the  peddler  in  St.  Louis,  were  brought 
to -fight.  No  sooner  did  the  senoritas  catch  a  glimpse  of 
the  shining  fabrics  than  th'ey  went  into  raptures  over  them, 
after  the  fashion  of  their  sex.     Seeing  the  state  of  mind 


SPECULATION    IN    SILKS    AND    JACKKNIVES.  403 

to  which  these  raptures,  if  unheeded,  were  likely  to  re- 
duce the  ladies  of  his  house,  Mr.  Williams  approached 
Meek  delicately  on  the  subject  of  purchase.  But  Meek, 
in  the  first  flush  of  speculative  shrewdness  declared  that 
as  he  had  bought  the  goods  for  his  own  wife,  he  could  not 
find  it  in  his  heart  to  sell  them. 

However,  as  the  senoritas  were  likely  to  prove  inconsola- 
ble, Mr.  Williams  again  mentioned  the  desire  of  his  family 
to  be  clad  in  silk,  and  the  great  difficulty,  nay,  impossi- 
bility, of  obtaining  the  much  coveted  fabric  in  that  part 
of  the  world,  and  accompanied  his  remarks  with  an  offer 
of  ten  dollars  a  yard  for  the  lot.  At  this  magnificent  offer 
our  hero  affected  to  be  overcome  by  regard  for  the  feel- 
ings of  the  senoritas,  and  consented  to  sell  his  dollar  and 
a-half  silks  for  ten  dollars  per  yard. 

In  the  same  manner,  finding  that  knives  were  a  desira- 
ble article  in  that  country,  very  much  wanted  by  miners 
and  others,  he  sold  out  his  dozen  or  two,  for  an  ounce' 
each  of  gold-dust,  netting  altogether  the  convenient  little 
profit  of  about  five  hundred  dollars.  When  Gen.  Lane 
was  informed  of  the  transaction,  and  reminded  of  his  ob- 
jections to  the  original  purchase,  he  laughed  heartily. 

"Well,  Meek,"  said  he,   "you  were  drunk  when  you 

bought  them,  and  by I  think   you  must   have   been 

drunk  when  you  sold  them ;  but  drunk  or  sober,  I  will 
own  you  can  beat  me  at  a  bargain." 

Such  bargains,  however,  became  common  enough  about 
this  time  in  California,  for  this  was  the  year  memorable  in 
California  history,  of  the  breaking  out  of  the  gold-fever, 
and  the  great  rush  to  the  mines  which  made  even  the 
commonest  things  worth  their  weight  in  gold-dust.  * 

Proceeding  to  Los  Angelos,  our  party,  once  more  comfort- 
ably mounted,  found  traveling  comparatively  easy.  Atf  this 
place  they  found  quartered  the  command  of  Maj.  Graham, 


404:  OREGONIANS   AT    SAN   FRANCISCO. 

whose  abandoned  wagons  had  been  passed  at  the  Romella 
on  the  Colorado  River.  The  town,  too,  was  crowded 
with  miners,  men  of  every  class,  but  chiefly  American 
adventurers,  drawn  together  from  every  quarter  of  Cali- 
fornia and  Mexico  by  the  rumor  of  the  gold  discovery  at 
Sutter's  Fort. 

On  arriving  at  San  Pedro,  a  vessel — the  Southampton, 
was  found  ready  to  sail.  She  had  on  board  a  crowd  of 
fugitives  from  Mexico,  bound  to  San  Francisco,  where  they 
hoped  to  find  repose  from  the  troubles  which  harassed 
that  revolutionary  Republic. 

At  San  Francisco,  Meek  was  surprised  to  meet  about 
two  hundred  Oregonians,  who  on  the  first  news  of  the 
gold  discovery  the  previous  autumn,  had  fled,  as  it  is  said 
men  shall  flee  on  the  day  of  judgment — leaving  the  wheat 
ungathered  in  the  fields,  the  grain  unground  in  the  mills, 
the  cattle  unherded  on  the  plains,  their  tools  and  farming 
implements  rusting  on  the  ground — everything  abandoned 
as  if  it  would  never  more  be  needed,  to  go  and  seek  the 
shining  dust,  which  is  vainly  denominated  "filthy  lucre." 
The  two  hundred  were  on  their  way  home,  having  all 
either  made  something,  or  lost  their  health  by  exposure 
so  that  they  were  obliged  to  return.  But  they  left  many 
more  in  the  mines. 

Such  were  the  tales  told  in  San  Francisco  of  the  won- 
derful fortunes  of  some  of  the  miners  that  young  Lane  be- 
came infected  with  the  universal  fever  and  declared  his 
intention  to  try  mining  with  the  rest.  Meek  too,  deter- 
mined to  risk  something  in  gold-seeking,  and  as  some  of 
the  teamsters  who  had  left  Fort  Leavenworth  with  the 
company,  and  had  come  as  far  as  San  Francisco,  were  very 
desirous  of  going  to  the  mines,  Meek  fitted  out  two  or 
three  with  pack-horses,  tools,  and  provisions,  to  accompany 
young  Lane.     For  the  money  expended  in  the  outfit  he 


THE  GOVERNOR  AND  MARSHAL  QUARREL.       405 

was  to  receive  half  of  their  first  year's  profits.  The  re- 
sult of  this  venture  was  three  pickle-jars  of  gold-dust, 
which  were  sent  to  him  by  the  hands  of  Nat.  Lane,  the 
following  year ;  and  which  just  about  reimbursed  him  for 
the  outlay. 

At  San  Francisco,  Gen.  Lane  found  the  U.  S.  Sloop  of 
War,  the  St.  Mary's;  and  Meek  insisted  that  the  Oregon 
government,  which  was  represented  in  their  persons,  had 
a  right  to  require  her  services  in  transporting  itself  to  its 
proper  seat.  But  Lane,  whose  notions  of  economy  ex- 
tended, singularly  enough,  to  the  affairs  of  the  general 
government,  would  not  consent  to  the  needless  expendi- 
ture. Meek  was  rebellious,  and  quoted  Thornton,  by 
whom  he  was  determined  not  to  be  outdone  in  respect  of 
expense  for  transportation.  Lane  insisted  that  his  dignity 
did  not  require  a  government  vessel  to  convey  him  to 
Oregon.  In  short  the  new  government  was  very  much 
divided  against  itself,  and  only  escaped  a  fall  by  Meek's 
finding  some  one,  or  some  others,  else,  on  whom  to  play 
his  pranks. 

The  first  one  was  a  Jew  peddler  who  had  gentlemen's 
clothes  to  sell.  To  him  the  Marshal  represented  himself 
as  a  United  States  Custom  officer,  and  after  frightening 
him  with  a  threat  of  confiscating  his  entire  stock,  finally 
compromised  with  the  terrified  Israelite  by  accepting  a 
suit  of  clothes  for  himself.  After  enjoying  the  mortifica- 
tion of  spirit  which  the  loss  inflicted  on  the  Jew,  for  twen- 
ty-four hours,  he  finally  paid  him  for  the  clothes,  at  the 
same  time  administering  a  lecture  upon  the  sin  and  dan- 
ger of  smuggling. 

The  party  which  had  left  Leavenworth  for  Oregon 
nearly  six  months  before,  numbering  fifty -five,  now  num- 
bered only  seven.  Of  the  original  number  two  had  been 
killed,  and  all  the  rest  had  deserted  to  go  to  the  mines. 


406  A   SALUTE ARRIVAL   AT    OREGON    CITY. 

There  remained  only  Gen.  Lane,  Meek,  Lieut.  Hawkins 
and  Hayden,  surgeon,  besides  three  soldiers.  With  this 
small  company  Gen.  Lane  went  on  board  the  Jeanette,  a 
small  vessel,  crowded  with  miners,  and  destined  for  the 
Columbia  River.  As  the  Jeanette  dropped  down  the  Bay, 
a  salute  was  fired  from  the  St  Mary's  in  honor  of  Gen. 
Lane,  and  appropriated  to  himself  by  Marshal  Meek,  who 
seems  to  have  delighted  in  appropriating  to  himself  all 
the  honors  in  whatever  circumstances  he  might  be  placed ; 
the  more  especially  too,  if  such  assumption  annoyed  the 
General. 

After  a  tedious  voyage  of  eighteen  days  the  Jeanette 
arrived  in  the  Columbia  River.  From  Astoria  the  party 
took  small  boats  for  Oregon  City,  a  voyage  of  one  hun- 
dred and  twenty  miles;  so  that  it  was  already  the  2d  of 
March  when  they  arrived  at  that  place,  and  only  one  day 
was  left  for  the  organization  of  the  Territorial  Govern- 
ment before  the  expiration  of  Polk's  term  of  office. 

On  the  2d  of  March  Gen.  Lane  arrived  at  Oregon  City, 
and  was  introduced  to  Gov.  Abernethy,  by  Marshal  Meek. 
On  the  3d,  there  appeared  the  following — 

PROCLAMATION. 

In  pursuance  of  an  act  of  Congress,  approved  the  14th  of  August,  in  the 
year  of  our  Lord  1848,  establishing  a  Territorial  Government  in  the  Territory 
of  Oregon: 

I,  Joseph  Lane,  was,  on  the  18th  day  of  August,  in  the  year  1848,  appointed 
Governor  in  and  for  the  Territory  of  Oregon.  I  have  therefore  thought  it 
proper  to  issue  this,  my  proclamation,  making  known  that  I  have  this  day  en- 
tered upon  the  discharge  of  the  duties  of  my  office,  and  by  virtue  thereof  do 
declare  the  laws  of  the  United  States  extended  over,  and  declared  to  be  in 
force  in  said  Territory,  so  far  as  the  same,  or  any  portion  thereof,  may  be  ap- 
plicable. 

Given  under  my  hand  at  Oregon  City,  in  the  Territory  of  Oregon,  this  3d 
day  of  March,  Anno  Domini  1849.  Joseph  Lane. 

Thus  Oregon  had  one  day,  under  Polk,  who,  take  it  all 
in  all,  had  been  a  faithful  guardian  of  her  interests. 


THE    GOLD    EXCITEMENT. 


40: 


In  the  month  of  August,  1848,  the  Honolulu,  a  vessel 
of  one  hundred  and  fifty  tons,  owned  in  Boston,  carrying 
a  consignment  of  goods  to  a  mercantile  house  in  Portland, 
arrived  at  her  anchorage  in  the  Wallamet,  via  San  Fran- 
cisco, California.  Captain  Newell,  almost  before  he  had 
discharged  freight,  commenced  buying  up  a  cargo  of  flour 
and  other  provisions.  But  what  excited  the  wonder  of 
the  Oregonians  was  the  fact  that  he  also  bought  up  all 
manner  of  tools  such  as  could  be  used  in  digging  or  cut- 
ting, from  a  spade  and  pickaxe,  to  a  pocket-knife.  This 
singular  proceeding  naturally  aroused  the  suspicions  of  a 
people  accustomed  to  have  something  to  suspect.  A  de- 
mand was  made  for  the  Honolulu's  papers,  and  these  not 
being  forthcoming,  it  was  proposed  by  some  of  the  pru- 
dent ones  to  tie  her  up.  "When  this  movement  was  at- 
tempted, the  secret  came  out.  Captain  Newell,  holding 
up  a  bag  of  gold-dust  before  the  astonished  eyes  of  his 
persecutors,  cried  out — 

"  Do  you  see  that  gold  ?        you,  I  will  depopulate 

your  country  !  I  know  where  there  is  plenty  of  this  stuff, 
and  I  am  taking  these  tools  where  it  is  to  be  found." 

This  was  in  August,  the  month  of  harvest.  So  great 
was  the  excitement  which  seized  the  people,  that  all  classes 
of  men  were  governed  by  it.  Few  persons  stopped  to 
consider  that  this  was  the  time  for  producers  to  reap  goldeD 
harvests  of  precious  ore,  for  the  other  yellow  harvest  of 
grain  which  was  already  ripe  and  waiting  to  be  gathered. 
Men  left  their  grain  standing,  and  took  their  teams  from 
the  reapers  to  pack  their  provisions  and  tools  to  the  mines. 

Some  men  would  have  gladly  paid  double  to  get  back 
the  spades,  shovels,  or  picks,  which  the  shrewd  Yankee 
Captain  had  purchased  from  them  a  week  previous.  All 
implements  of  this  nature  soon  commanded  fabulous  prices, 
and  he  was  a  lucky  man  who  had  a  supply. 


CHAPTER    XXXVII. 

1850-4.  The  Territorial  law  of  Oregon  combined  the 
offices  of  Governor  and  Indian  Agent.  One  of  the  most 
important  acts  which  marked  Lane's  administration  was 
that  of  securing  and  punishing  the  murderers  of  Dr.  and 
Mrs.  Whitman.  The  Indians  of  the  Cayuse  tribe  to  whom 
the  murderers  belonged,  were  assured  that  the  only  way 
in  which  they  could  avoid  a  war  with  the  whites  was  to 
deliver  up  the  chiefs  who  had  been  engaged  in  the  massacre, 
to  be  tried  and  punished  according  to  the  laws  of  the 
whites.  Of  the  two  hundred  Indians  implicated  in  the 
massacre,  five  were  given  up  to  be  dealt  with  according  to 
law.  These  were  the  five  chiefs,  Te-lou~i-kite,  Tam-a-lias, 
KloJc-a-mas,  Ki-am-a-sump-kin,  and  I-sa-i-a-dia-lak-is. 

These  men  might  have  made  their  escape ;  there  was 
no  imperative  necessity  upon  them  to  suffer  death,  had 
they  chosen  to  flee  to  the  mountains.  But  with  that 
strange  magnanimity  which  the  savage  often  shows,  to  the 
astonishment  of  Christians,  they  resolved  to  die  for  their 
people  rather  than  by  their  flight  to  involve  them  in 
war. 

Early  in  the  summer  of  1850,  the  prisoners  were  deli  v. 
ered  up  to  Gov.  Lane,  and  brought  down  to  Oregon  City, 
where  they  were  given  into  the  keeping  of  the  marshal. 
During  their  passage  down  the  river,  and  while  they  were 
incarcerated  at  Oregon  City,  their  bearing  was  most  proud 
and  haughty.  Some  food,  more  choice  than  their  prison- 
er's fare,  being  offered  to  one  of  the  chiefs  at  a  camp  of 


PROUD   BEARING    OF    THE   PRISONERS.  409 

the  guard,  in  their  transit  down  the  Columbia,  the  proud 
savage  rejected  it  with  scorn. 

"What  sort  of  heart  have  you,"  he  asked,  "that  you 
offer  food  to  me,  whose  hands  are  red  with  your  brother's 
blood?" 

And  this,  after  eleven  years  of  missionary  labor,  was  all 
the  comprehension  the  savage  nature  knew  of  the  main 
principle  of  Christianity, — forgiveness,  or  charity  toward 
our  enemies. 

At  Oregon  City,  Meek  had  many  conversations  with 
them.  In  all  of  these  they  gave  but  one  explanation  of 
their  crime.  They  feared  that  Dr.  Whitman  intended, 
with  the  other  whites,  to  take  their  land  from  them ;  and 
they  were  told  by  Jo  Lewis,  the  half-breed,  that  the  Doc- 
tor's medicine  was  intended  to  kill  them  off  quicMy,  in 
order  the  sooner  to  get  possession  of  their  country.  None 
of  them  expressed  any  sorrow  for  what  had  been  done ; 
but  one  of  them,  Ki-am-a-sump-km,  declared  his  inno- 
cence to  the  last. 

In  conversations  with  others,  curious  to  gain  some 
knowledge  of  the  savage  moral  nature,  Te-lou-i-Mte  often 
puzzled  these  students  of  Indian  ethics.  When  ques- 
tioned as  to  his  motive  for  allowing  himself  to  be  taken, 
Te-lou-i-Mte  answered : 

"Did  not  your  missionaries  tell  us  that  Christ  died  to 
save  his  people?     So  die  we,  to  save  our  people!" 

Notwithstanding  the  prisoners  were  pre-doomed  to 
death,  a  regular  form  of  trial  was  gone  through.  The 
Prosecuting  Attorney  for  the  Territory,  A.  Holbrook,  con- 
ducted the  prosecution :  Secretary  Pritchett,  Major  Run- 
nels, and  Captain  Claiborne,  the  defence.  The  fee  of- 
fered by  the  chiefs  was  fifty  head  of  horses.  Whether  it 
was  compassion,  or  a  love  of  horses  which  animated  the 


410  MEEK  S   DESCRIPTION    OF    THE   TRIAL. 

defence,  quite  an  effort  was  made  to  show  that  the  mur- 
derers were  not  guilty. 

The  presiding  Justice  was  0.  C.  Pratt — Bryant  having 
resigned.  Perhaps  we  cannot  do  better  than  to  give  the 
Marshal's  own  description  of  the  trial  and  execution, 
which  is  as  follows:  "Thar  war  a  great  many  indict- 
ments, and  a  great  many  people  in  attendance  at  this 
court.  The  Grand  Jury  found  true  bills  against  the  five 
Indians,  and  they  war  arraigned  for  trial.  Captain  Clai- 
borne led  off  for  the  defence.  He  foamed  and  ranted 
like  he  war  acting  a  play  in  some  theatre.  He  knew 
about  as  much  law  as  one  of  the  Indians  he  war  defend 
ing ;  and  his  gestures  were  so  powerful  that  he  smashed 
two  tumblers  that  the  Judge  had  ordered  to  be  filled  with 
cold  water  for  him.  After  a  time  he  gave  out  mentally 
and  physically.  Then  came  Major  Runnels,  who  made  a 
very  good  defence.  But  the  Marshal  thought  they  must 
do  better,  for  they  would  never  ride  fifty  head  of  horses 
with  them  speeches. 

Mr.  Pritchett  closed  for  the  defence  with  a  very  able 
argument ;  for  he  war  a  man  of  brains.  But  then  followed 
Mr.  Holbrook,  for  the  prosecution,  and  he  laid  down  the 
case  so  plain  that  the  jury  were  convinced  oefore  they 
left  the  jury-box.  When  the  Judge  passed  sentence  of 
death  on  them,  two  of  the  chiefs  showed  no  terror ;  but 
the  other  three  were  filled  with  horror  and  consternation 
that  they  could  not  conceal. 

After  court  had  adjourned,  and  Gov.  Lane  war  gone 
South  on  some  business  with  the  Rogue  River  Indians, 
Secretary  Pritchett  came  to  me  and  told  me  that  as  he 
war  now  acting  Governor  he  meant  to  reprieve  the  In- 
dians. Said  he  to  me,  '  Now  Meek,  I  want  you  to  liber- 
ate them  Indians,  when  you  receive  the  order.' 


THE    EXECUTION.  4H 

'Pritchett,'  said  I,  'so  far  as  Meek  is  concerned,  he 
would  do  anything  for  you.' 

This  talk  pleased  him ;  he  said  he  'war  glad  to  hear  it; 
and  would  go  right  on0  and  write  the  reprieve.' 

*  But,'  said  I,  '  Pritchett,  let  us  talk  now  like  men.  I 
have  got  in  my  pocket  the  death-warrant  of  them  Indians, 
signed  by  Gov.  Lane.  The  Marshal  will  execute  them 
men,  as  certain  as  the  day  arrives.' 

Pritchett  looked  surprised,  and  remarked — 'That  war 
not  what  you  just  said,  that  you  would  do  anything  for 
me.' 

Said  I,  'you  were  talking  then  to  Meek, — not  to  the 
Marshal,  who  always  does  his  duty.'  At  that  he  got  mad 
and  left. 

When  the  3d  of  June,  the  day  Of  execution,  arrived, 
Oregon  City  was  thronged  with  people  to  witness  it.  I 
brought  forth  the  five  prisoners  and  placed  them  on  a 
drop.  Here  the  chief,  who  always  declared  his  innocence, 
Ki-am-i-sump-lcin,  begged  me  to  kill  him  with  my  knife, — 
for  an  Indian  fears  to  be  hanged, — but  I  soon  put  an  end 
to  his  entreaties  by  cutting  the  rope  which  held  the  drop, 
with  my  tomahawk.  As  I  said  '  The  Lord  have  mercy  on 
your  souls,'  the  trap  fell,  and  the  five  Cayuses  hung  in 
the  air.  Three  of  them  died  instantly.  The  other  two 
struggled  for  several  minutes ;  the  Little  Chief,  Tam-a-has, 
the  longest.  It  was  he  who  was  cruel  to  my  little  girl  at 
the  time  of  the  massacre ;  so  I  just  put  my  foot  on  the 
knot  to  tighten  it,  and  he  got  quiet.  After  thirty-five 
minutes  they  were  taken  down  and  buried." 

Thus  terminated  a  tragic  chapter  in  the  history  of  Ore- 
gon. Among  the  services  which  Thurston  performed  for 
the  Territory,  was  getting  an  appropriation  of  $100,000, 
to  pay  the  expenses  of  the  Cayuse  war.  From  the  Spring 
of  1848,  when  all  the  whites,  except  the  Catholic  mission- 
aries, were  withdrawn  from  the  upper  country,  for  a  pe- 


412  STATE    OF    THE    UPPER    COUNTRY. 

riod  of  several  years,  or  until  Government  had  made 
treaties  with  the  tribes  east  of  the  Cascades,  no  settlers 
were  permitted  to  take  up  land  in  Eastern  Oregon.  Dur- 
ing those  years,  the  Indians,  dissatisfied  with  the  encroach- 
ments which  they  foresaw  the  whites  would  finally  make 
upon  their  country,  and  incited  by  certain  individuals  who 
had  suffered  wrongs,  or  been  punished  for  their  own  of- 
fences at  the  hands  of  the  whites,  finally  combined,  as  it 
was  supposed  from  the  extent  of  the  insurrection,  and 
Oregon  was  involved  in  a  three  years  Indian  war,  the  his- 
tory of  which  would  fill  a  volume  of  considerable  size. 

When  Meek  returned  to  Oregon  as  marshal,  with  his 
fine  clothes  and  his  newly  acquired  social  accomplish- 
ments, he  was  greeted  with  a  cordial  acknowledgment  of 
his  services,  as  well  as  admiration  for  his  improved  appear- 
ance. He  was  generally  acknowledged  to  be  the  model 
of  a  handsome  marshal,  when  clad  in  his  half-military 
dress,  and  placed  astride  of  a  fine  horse,  in  the  execution 
of  the  more  festive  duties  of  marshal  of  a  procession  on 
some  patriotic  occasion. 

But  no  amount  of  official  responsibility  could  ever 
change  him  from  a  wag  into  a  "grave  and  reverend 
seignior."  No  place  nor  occasion  was  sacred  to  him  when 
the  wild  humor  was  on  him. 

At  this  same  term  of  court,  after  the  conviction  of  the 
Cayuse  chiefs,  there  was  a  case  before  Judge  Pratt,  in 
which  a  man  was  charged  with  selling  liquor  to  the  In- 
dians. In  these  cases  Indian  evidence  was  allowed,  but 
the  jury-room  being  up  stairs,  caused  a  good  deal  of 
annoyance  in  court ;  because  when  an  Indian  witness  was 
wanted  up  stairs,  a  dozen  or  more  who  were  not  wanted 
would  follow.  The  Judge's  bench  was  so  placed  that  it 
commanded  a  full  view  of  the  staircase  and  every  one 
passing  up  or  down  it. 

A  call  for  some  witness  to  go  before  the  jury  was  fol 


SCENE    IN   A    COURT-ROOM. 


413 


lowed  on  this  occasion,  as  on  all  others,  by  a  general  rush 
of  the  Indians,  who  were  curious  to  witness  the  proceed- 
ings. One  fat  old  squaw  had  got  part  way  up  the  stairs, 
when  the  Marshal,  full  of  wrath,  seized  her  by  a  leg  and 
dragged  her  down  flat,  at  the  same  time  holding  the  fat 


MEEK   AS   UNITED   STATES   MARSHAL. 


member  so  that  it  was  pointed  directly  toward  the  Judge. 
A  general  explosion  followed  this  pointed  action,  and  the 
Judge  grew  very  red  in  the  face. 

"Mr.  Marshal,  come  within  the  bar!"  thundered  the 
Judge. 

Meek  complied,  with  a  very  dubious  expression  of 
countenance. 

"  I  must  fine  you  fifty  dollars,"  continued  the  Judge ; 
"the  dignity  of  the  Court  must  be  maintained." 

When  court  had  adjourned  that  evening,  the  Judge 
and  the  Marshal  were  walking  toward  their  respective 
lodgings.     Said  Meek  to  his  Honor : 


414        JUDGE  NELSON  AND  THE  CARPENTERS. 

"  Why  did  you  fine  me  so  heavily  to-day  ?" 

"  I  must  do  it,"  returned  the  Judge.  "  I  must  keep  up 
the  dignity  of  the  Court ;  I  must  do  it,  if  I  pay  the  fines 
myself." 

"  And  you  must  pay  all  the  fines  you  lay  on  the  marshal, 
of  course,"  answered  Meek. 

"  Very  well,"  said  the  Judge ;   "I  shall  do  so." 

"All  right,  Judge.  As  I  am  the  proper  disbursing 
officer,  you  can  pay  that  fifty  dollars  to  me — and  I'll  take 
it  now." 

At  this  view  of  the  case,  his  Honor  was  staggered  for 
one  moment,  and  could  only  swing  his  cane  and  laugh 
faintly.     After  a  little  reflection,  he  said  : 

"Marshal,  when  court  is  called  to-morrow,  I  shall  remit 
your  fine  ;  but  don't  you  let  me  have  occasion  to  fine  you 
again!" 

After  the  removal  of  the  capital  to  Salem,  in  1852, 
court  was  held  in  a  new  building,  on  which  the  carpenters 
were  still  at  work.  Judge  Nelson,  then  presiding,  was 
much  put  out  by  the  noise  of  hammers,  and  sent  the 
marshal  more  than  once,  to  request  the  men  to  suspend 
their  work  during  those  hours  when  court  was  in  session, 
but  all  to  no  purpose.  Finally,  when  his  forbearance  was 
quite  exhausted,  he  appealed  to  the  marshal  for  advice. 

"What  shall  I  do,  Meek,"  said  he,  "to  stop  that  in- 
fernal noise  ?" 

"Put  the  workmen  on  the  Grand  Jury,"  replied  Meek. 

"  Summon  them  instantly !"  returned  the  Judge.  They 
were  summoned,  and  quiet  secured  for  that  term. 

At  this  same  term  of  court,  a  great  many  of  the  foreign 
born  settlers  appeared,  to  file  their  intention  of  becoming 
American  citizens,  in  order  to  secure  the  benefits  of  the 
Donation  Law.  Meek  was  retained  as  a  witness,  to  swear 
to  their  qualifications,  one  of  which  was,  that  they  were 


THE  OREGON  COURT  ON  AN  EXCURSION.       4^5 

possessed  of  good  moral  characters.  The  first  day  there 
were  about  two  hundred  who  made  declarations,  Meek 
witnessing  for  most  of  them.  On  the  day  following,  he 
declined  serving  any  longer. 

"What  now?"  inquired  the  Judge;  "you  made  no 
objections  yesterday." 

"Very  true,"  replied  Meek;  "and  two  hundred  lies 
are  enough  for  me.  I  swore  that  all  those  mountain-men 
were  of  'good  moral  character,'  and  I  never  knew  a 
mountain-man  of  that  description  in  my  life  !  Let  Newell 
take  the  job  for  to-day." 

The  "job"  was  turned  over  to  Newell;  but  whether 
the  second  lot  was  better  than  the  first,  has,  never  trans- 
pired. 

During  Lane's  administration,  there  was  a  murder  com- 
mitted by  a  party  of  Indians  at  the  Sound,  on  the  person 
of  a  Mr.  Wallace.  Owing  to  the  sparse  settlement  of  the 
country,  Governor"  Lane  adopted  the  original  measure  of 
exporting  not  only  the  officers  of  the  court,  but  the  jury 
also,  to  the  Sound  district.  Meek  was  ordered  to  find 
transportation  for  the  court  in  toto,  jury  and  all.  Boats 
were  hired  and  provisioned  to  take  the  party  to  the 
Cowelitz  Landing,  and  from  thence  to  Fort  Steilacoom, 
horses  were  hired  for  the  land  transportation. 

The  Indians  accused  were  five  in  number — two  chiefs 
and  three  slaves.  The  Grand  Jury  found  a  true  bill 
against  the  two  chiefs,  and  let  the  slaves  go.  So  few 
were  the  inhabitants  of  those  parts,  that  the  marshal  was 
obliged  to  take  a  part  of  the  grand  jury  to  serve  on  the 
petite  jury.  The  form  of  a  trial  was  gone  through  with, 
the  Judge  delivered  his  charge,  and  the  jury  retired. 

It  was  just  after  night-fall  when  these  worthies  betook 
themselves  to  the  jury-room.  One  of  them  curled  him- 
self up  in  a  corner  of  the  room,  with  the  injunction  to 
27 


410  the  chief's  wife. 

the  others  to  "  wake  him  up  when  they  got  ready  to  hang 

them    rascals."     The  rest  of  the  party  spent  four 

or  five  hours  betting  against  monte,  when,  being  sleepy 
also,  they  waked  up  their  associate,  spent  about  ten  min- 
utes in  arguing  their  convictions,  and  returned  a  verdict 
of  "guilty  of  murder  in  the  first  degree." 

The  Indians  were  sentenced  to  be  hung  at  noon  on  the 
following  day,  and  the  marshal  was  at  work  early  in  the 
morning  preparing  a  gallows.  A  rope  was  procured 
from  a  ship  lying  in  the  sound.  At  half-past  eleven 
o'clock,  guarded  by  a  company  of  artillery  from  the  fort, 
the  miserable  savages  were  marched  forth  to  die.  A 
large  number,  of  Indians  were  collected  to  witness  the 
execution ;  and  to  prevent  any  attempt  at  rescue,  Captain 
Hill's  artillery  formed  a  ring  around  the  marshal  and  his 
prisoners.  The  execution  was  interrupted  or  delayed  for 
some  moments,  on  account  of  the  frantic  behavior  of  an 
Indian  woman,  wife  of  one  of  the  chiefs',  whose  entreaties 
for  the  life  of  her  husband  were  very  affecting.  Having 
exhausted  all  her  eloquence  in  an  appeal  to  the  nobler 
feelings  of  the  man,  she  finally  promised  to  leave  her 
husband  and  become  his  wife,  if  he,  the  marshal,  would 
spare  her  lord  and  chief. 

She  was  carried  forcibly  out  of  the  ring,  and  the  hang- 
ing took  place.  When  the  bodies  were  taken  down, 
Meek  spoke  to  the  woman,  telling  her  that  now  she  could 
have  her  husband ;  but  she  only  sullenly  replied,  "  You 
have  killed  him,  and  you  may  bury  him." 


CHAPTER    XXXVIII. 

While  Meek  was  in  Washington,  he  had  been  dubbed 
with  the  title  of  Colonel,  which  title  he  still  bears,  though 
during  the  Indian  war  of  1855-56,  it  was  alternated  with 
that  of  Major.  During  his  marshalship  he  was  fond  of 
showing  off  his  titles  and  authority  to  the  discomfiture  of 
that  class  of  people  who  had  "put  on  airs"  with  him 
in  former  days,  when  he  was  in  his  transition  stage  from 
a  trapper  to  a  United  States  Marshal. 

While  Pratt  was  Judge  of  the  District  Court,  a  kidnap- 
ing case  came  before  him.  The  writ  of  habeas  corpus 
having  been  disregarded  by  the  Captain  of  the  Melvin, 
who  was  implicated  in  the  business,  Meek  was  sent  to 
arrest  him,  and  also  the  first  mate.  Five  of  the  MelvirCs 
sailors  were  ordered  to  be  summoned  as  witnesses,  at  the 
same  time. 

Meek  went  on  board  with  his  summons,  marched  for- 
ward, and  called  out  the  names  of  the  men.  Every  man 
came  up  as  he  was  summoned.  When  they  were  together, 
Meek  ordered  a  boat  lowered  for  their  conveyance  to 
Oregon  City.  The  men  started  to  obey,  when  the  Cap- 
tain interfered,  saying  that  the  boat  should  not  be  taken 
for  such  a  purpose,  as  it  belonged  to  him. 

"  That  is  of  no  consequence  at  all,"  answered  the  smiling 
marshal.  "  It  is  a  very  good  boat,  and  will  suit  our  pur- 
pose very  well.     Lower  away,  men  !" 

The  men  quickly  dropped  the  boat.     As  it  fell,  they 


418  THE    CAPTAIN    OF    THE    MELVIN. 

were  ordered  to  man  it.  When  they  were  at  the  oars, 
the  mate  was  then  invited  to  take  a  seat  in  it,  which  he 
did,  after  a  moment's  hesitation,  and  glancing  at  his  supe- 
rior officer.  Meek  then  turned  to  the  Captain,  and  ex- 
tended the  same  invitation  to  him.  But  he  was  reluctant 
to  accept  the  courtesy,  blustering  considerably,  and  de- 
claring his  intention  to  remain  where  he  was.  Meek 
slowly  drew  his  revolver,  all  the  time  cool  and  smiling. 

"  I  don't  like  having  to  urge  a  gentleman  too  hard," 
he  said,  in  a  meaning  tone ;  "  but  thar  is  an  argument 
that  few  men  ever  resist.     Take  a  seat,  Captain." 

The  Captain  took  a  seat ;  the  idlers  on  shore  cheered 
for  "Joe  Meek" — which  was,  after  all,  his  most  familiar 
title ;  the  Captain  and  mate  went  to  Oregon  City,  and 
were  fined  respectively  $500  and  $300 ;  the  men  took 
advantage  of  being  on  shore  to  desert ;  and  altogether, 
the  master  of  the  Melvin  felt  himself  badly  used. 

About  the  same  time  news  was  received  that  a  British 
vessel  was  unloading  goods  for  the  Hudson's  Bay  Com- 
pany, somewhere  on  Puget  Sound.  Under  the  new  order 
of  affairs  in  Oregon,  this  was  smuggling.  Delighted  with 
an  opportunity  of  doing  the  United  States  a  service,  and 
the  British  traders  an  ill  turn,  Marshal  Meek  immediately 
summoned  a  posse  of  men  and  started  for  the  Sound.  On 
his  way  he  learned  the  name  of  the  vessel  and  Captain, 
and  recognized  them  as  having  been  in  the  Columbia 
River  some  years  before.  On  that  occasion  the  Captain 
had  ordered  Meek  ashore,  when,  led  by  his  curiosity  and 
general  love  of  novelty,  he  had  paid  a  visit  to  this  vessel. 
This  information  was  "  nuts"  to  the  marshal,  who  believed 
that  "a  turn  about  was  fair  play." 

With  great  dispatch  and  secrecy  he  arrived  entirely 
unexpected  at  the  point  where  the  vessel  was  lying,  and 
proceeded  to  board  her  without  loss  of  time.     The  Cap- 


ARREST    OF   A    BRITISH    SMUGGLER.  419 

tain  and  officers  were  taken  by  surprise  and  were  all 
aghast  at  this  unlooked  for  appearance.  But  after  the 
first  moment  of  agitation  was  over,  the  Captain  recognized 
Meek,  he  being  a  man  not  likely  to  be  forgotten,  and 
thinking  to  turn  this  circumstance  to  advantage,  approach- 
ed him  with  the  blandest  of  smiles  and  the  most  cordial 
manner,  saying  with  forced  frankness — 

"  I  am  sure  I  have  had  the  pleasure  of  meeting  you  be- 
fore. You  must  have  been  at  Vancouver  when  my  ves- 
sel was  in  the  river,  seven  or  eight  years  ago.  I  am  very 
happy  to  have  met  with  you  again." 

"  Thar  is  some  truth  in  that  remark  of  yours,  Captain," 
replied  Meek,  eyeing  him  with  lofty  scorn;  "you  did 
meet  me  at  Vancouver  several  years  ago.  But  I  was 
nothing  but  '  Joe  Meek  '  at  that  time,  and  you  ordered  me 
ashore.  Circumstances  are  changed  since  then.  I  am 
now  Colonel  Joseph  L.  Meek,  United  States  Marshal  for 
Oregon  Territory ;  and  you  sir,  are  only  a  smug- 
gler!    Go  ashore,  sir!" 

The  Captain  saw  the  point  of  that  concluding  "go 
ashore,  sir !"  and  obeyed  with  quite  as  bad  a  grace  as  '  Joe 
Meek '  had  done  in  the  first  instance. 

The  vessel  was  confiscated  and  sold,  netting  to  the  Gov- 
ernment about  $40,000,  above  expenses.  This  money, 
which  fell  into  bad  hands,  failed  to  be  accounted  for. 
Nobody  suspected  the  integrity  of  the  marshal,  but  most 
persons  suspected  that  he  placed  too  much  confidence  in 
the  District  Attorney,  who  had  charge  of  his  accounts. 
On  some  one  asking  him,  a  short  time  after,  what  had  be- 
come of  the  money  from  the  sale  of  the  smuggler,  he 
seemed  struck  with  a  sudden  surprise : 

"Why,"  said  he,  looking  astonished  at  the  question, 
"thar  was  barly  enough  for  the  officers  of  the  court!" 

This  answer,  given  as  it  was,  with  such  apparent  simplic- 


420  MISPLACED    CONFIDENCE    AND    THE    RESULT. 

ity,  became  a  popular  joke;  and  "barly  enough"  was 
quoted  on  all  occasions. 

The  truth  was,  that  there  was  a  serious  deficiency  in 
Meek's  account  with  the  Government,  resulting  entirely 
from  his  want  of  confidence  in  his  own  literary  accom- 
plishments, which  led  him  to  trust  all  his  correspondence 
and  his  accounts  to  the  hands  of  a  man  whose  talents  were 
more  eminent  than  his  sense  of  honor.  The  result  of  this 
misplaced  confidence  was  a  loss  to  the  Government,  and 
to  himself,  whom  the  Government  held  accountable.  Con- 
trary to  the  general  rule  of  disbursing  officers,  the  office 
made  him  poor  instead  of  rich ;  and  when  on  the  incom- 
ing of  the  Pierce  administration  he  suffered  decapitation 
along  with  the  other  Territorial  officers,  he  was  forced  to 
retire  upon  his  farm  on  the  Tualatin  Plains,  and  become  a 
rather  indifferent  tiller  of  the  earth. 

The  breaking  out  of  the  Indian  war  of  1855-6,  was 
preceded  by  a  long  period  of  uneasiness  among  the  Indi- 
ans generally.  The  large  emigration  which  crossed  the 
plains  every  year  for  California  and  Oregon  was  one  cause 
of  the  disturbance  ;  not  only  by  exciting  their  fears  for 
the  possession  of  their  lands,  but  by  the  temptation  which 
was  offered  them  to  take  toll  of  the  travelers.  Difficulties 
occurred  at  first  between  the  emigrants  and  Indians  con- 
cerning stolen  property.  These  quarrels  were  followed, 
probably  the  subsequent  year,  by  outrages  and  murder 
on  the  part  of  the  Indians,  and  retaliation  on  the  part  of 
volunteer  soldiers  from  Oregon.  When  once  this  system 
of  outrage  and  retaliation  on  either  side,  was  begun,  there 
was  an  end  of  security,  and  war  followed  as  an  inevitable 
consequence.  Very  horrible  indeed  were  the  acts  per- 
petrated by  the  Indians  upon  the  emigrants  to  Oregon, 
during  the  years  from  1852  to  1858. 

But  when  at  last  the  call  to  arms  was  made  in  Oregon, 


INDIAN    DISTURBANCES THE    AGENT    MURDERED.  421 

it  was  an  opportunity  sought,  and  not  an  alternative 
forced  upon  them,  by  the  politicians  of  that  Territory. 
The  occasion  was  simply  this.  A  party  of  lawless  wretches 
from  the  Sound  Country,  passing  over  the  Cascade  Moun- 
tains into  the  Yakima  Valley,  on  their  way  to  the  Upper 
Columbia  mines,  found  some  Yakima  women  digging  roots 
in  a  lonely  place,  and  abused  them.  The  women  fled  to 
their  village  and  told  the  chiefs  of  the  outrage ;  and  a  party 
followed  the  guilty  whites  and  killed  several  of  them  in  a 
fight. 

Mr.  Bolin,  the  Indian  sub-agent  for  Washington  went 
to  the  Yakima  village,  and  instead  of  judging  of  the  case 
impartially,  made  use  of  threats  in  the  name  of  the  United 
States  Government,  saying  that  an  army  should  be  sent  to 
punish  them  for  killing  his  people.  On  his  return  home, 
Mr.  Bolin  was  followed  and  murdered. 

The  murder  of  an  Indian  agent  was  an  act  which  could 
not  be  overlooked.  Very  properly,  the  case  should  have 
been  taken  notice  of  in  a  manner  to  convince  the  Indians 
that  murder  must  be  punished.  But,  tempted  by  an  op- 
portunity for  gain,  and  encouraged  by  the  somewhat  rea- 
sonable fears  of  the  white  population  of  Washington  and 
Oregon,  Governor  G.  L.  Curry,  of  the  latter,  at  once  pro- 
claimed war,  and  issued  a  call  for  volunteers,  without  wait- 
ing for  the  sanction  or  assistance  of  the  general  Govern- 
ment. The  moment  this  was  done,  it  was  too  late  to  re- 
tract. It  was  as  if  a  torch  had  been  applied  to  a  field  of 
dry  grass.  So  simultaneously  did  the  Indians  from  Puget 
Sound  to  the  Rocky  Mountains,  and  from  the  Rocky  Moun- 
tains to  the  southern  boundary  of  Oregon  send  forth  the 
war-whoop,  that  there  was  much  justification  for  the  belief 
which  agitated  the  people,  that  a  combination  among  the 
Indians  had  been  secretly  agreed  to,  and  that  the  whites 
were  all  to  be  exterminated. 


422  THE   INDIAN   WAR    OF    1855-6. 

.  Volunteer  companies  were  already  raised  and  sent  into 
the  Indian  country,  when  Brevet  Major  G.  0.  Haller  ar- 
rived at  Vancouver,  now  a  part  of  the  United  States.  He 
had  been  as  far  east  as  Fort  Boise  to  protect  the  incoming 
immigration ;  and  finding  on  his  return  that  there  was  an 
Indian  war  on  hand,  proceeded  at  once  to  the  Yakima 
country  with  his  small  force  of  one  hundred  men,  only 
fifty  of  whom  were  mounted.  Much  solicitude  was  felt 
for  the  result  of  the  first  engagement,  every  one  knowing 
that  if  the  Indians  were  at  first  successful,  the  war  would 
be  long  and  bloody. 

Major  Haller  was  defeated  with  considerable  loss,  and 
notwithstanding  slight  reinforcements,  from  Fort  Vancou- 
ver, only  succeeded  in  getting  safely  out  of  the  country. 
Major  Raines,  the  commanding  officer  at  Vancouver,  seeing 
the  direction  of  events,  made  a  requisition  upon  Governor 
Curry  for  four  of  his  volunteer  companies  to  go  into  the 
field.  Then  followed  applications  to  Major  Raines  for 
horses  and  arms  to  equip  the  volunteers ;  but  the  horses 
at  the  Fort  being  unfit  for  service,  and  the  Major  unau- 
thorized to  equip  volunteer  troops,  there  resulted  only 
misunderstandings  and  delays.  When  General  Wool,  at 
the  head  of  the  Department  in  San  Francisco,  was  con- 
sulted, he  also  was  without  authority  to  employ  or  receive 
the  volunteers;  and  when  the  volunteers,  who  at  length 
armed  and  equipped  themselves,  came  to  go  into  the  field 
with  the  regulars,  they  could  not  agree  as  to  the  mode  of, 
fighting  Indians ;  so  that  with  one  thing  and  another,  the 
war  became  an  exciting  topic  for  more  reasons  than  be- 
cause the  whites  were  afraid  of  the  Indians.  As  for  Gen- 
eral Wool,  he  was  in  great  disfavor  both  in  Oregon  and 
Washington  because  he  did  not  believe  there  ever  had 
existed  the  necessity  for  a  war ;  and  that  therefore  he 
bestowed  what  assistance  was  at  his  command  very  grudg- 


OFFICERS    OF    THE    WAR VOLUNTEERS.  423 

ingly.  General  Wool,  it  was  said,  was  jealous  of  the  vol- 
unteers ;  and  the  volunteers  certainly  cared  little  for  the 
opinion  of  General  Wool. 

However  all  that  may  be,  Col.  Meek  gives  it  as  his  opin- 
ion that  the  old  General  was  right.  "  It  makes  me  think," 
said  he,  "  of  a  bear-fight  I  once  saw  in  the  Rocky  Moun- 
tains, where  a  huge  old  grizzly  was  surrounded  by  a  pack 
of  ten  or  twelve  dogs,  all  snapping  at  and  worrying  him. 
It  made  him  powerful  mad,  and  every  now  and  then  he 
would  make  a  claw  at  one  of  them  that  silenced  him  at 
once." 

The  Indian  war  in  Oregon  gave  practice  to  a  number  of 
officers,  since  become  famous,  most  prominent  among 
whom  is  Sheridan,  vho  served  in  Oregon  as  a  Lieutenant. 
Grant  himself,  was  at  one  time  a  Captain  on  that  frontier. 
Col.  Wright,  afterwards  Gen.  Wright,  succeeded  Major 
Raines  at  Vancouver,  and  conducted  the  war  through  its 
most  active  period.  During  a  period  of  three  years  there 
were  troops  constantly  occupied  in  trying  to  subdue  the 
Indians  in  one  quarter  or  another. 

As  for  the  volunteers  they  fared  badly.  On  the  first 
call  to  arms  the  people  responded  liberally.  The  proposi- 
tion which  the  Governor  made  for  their  equipment  was 
accepted,  and  they  turned  in  their  property  at  a  certain 
valuation.  When  the  war  was  over  and  the  property  sold, 
the  men  who  had  turned  it  in  could  not  purchase  it  with- 
out paying  more  for  it  in  gold  and  silver  than  it  was  val- 
ued at  when  it  was  placed  in  the  hands  of  the  Quarter- 
master. It  was  sold,  however,  and  the  money  enjoyed  by 
the  shrewd  political  speculators,  who  thought  an  Indian 
war  a  very  good  investment. 

Meek  was  one  of  the  first  to  volunteer,  and  went  as  a 
private  in  Company  A.  On  arriving  at  the  Dalles  he  was 
detailed  for*  special   service   by  Col.  J.  W.  Nesmith,  and 


424  MAJOR  MEEK  AS  A  VOLUNTEER. 

sent  out  as  pilot  or  messenger,  whenever  any  such  duty 
was  required.  He  was  finally  placed  on  Nesmith's  staff, 
and  given  the  title  of  Major.  In  this  capacity,  as  in  every 
other,  he  was  still  the  same  alert  and  willing  individual 
that  we  have  always  seen  him,  and  not  a  whit  less  inclined 
to  be  merry  when  an  opportunity  offered. 

While  the  army  was  in  the  Yakima  country,  it  being  an 
enemy's  country,  and  provisions  scarce,  the  troops  some- 
times were  in  want  of  rations.  But  Meek  had  not  forgot- 
ten his  mountain  craft,  and  always  had  something  to  eat, 
if  anybody  did.  One  evening  he  had  killed  a  fat  cow 
which  he  had  discovered  astray,  and  was  proceeding  to 
roast  a  twenty-pound  piece  before  his  camp-fire,  when  a 
number  of  the  officers  called  on  him.  The  sight  and  sa- 
vory smell  of  the  beef  was  very  grateful  to  them. 

"Major  Meek,"  said  they  in  a  breath,  "we  will  sup  with 
you  to-night." 

"I  am  very  sorry,  gentlemen,  to  decline  the  honor," 
returned  Meek  with  a  repetition  of  the  innocent  surprise 
for  which  he  had  so  often  been  laughed  at,  "  but  I  am 
very  hungry,  and  thar  is  barly  enough  beef  for  one 
man!" 

On  hearing  this  sober  assertion,  those  who  had  heard 
the  story  laughed,  but  the  rest  looked  rather  aggrieved. 
However,  the  Major  continued  his  cooking,  and  when  the 
beef  was  done  to  a  turn,  he  invited  his  visitors  to  the 
feast,  and  the  evening  passed  merrily  with  jests  and  camp 
stories. 

After  the  army  went  into  winter-quarters,  Nesmith  hav- 
ing resigned,  T.  R.  Cornelius  was  elected  Colonel.  One 
of  his  orders  prohibited  firing  in  camp,  an  order  which  as 
a  good  mountaineer  the  Major  should  have  remembered. 
But  having  been  instructed  to  proceed  to  Salem  without 
delay,  as  bearer  of  dispatches,  the  Major  committed  the 


"marking  time.  425 

error  of  firing  his  gun  to  see  if  it  was  in  good  condition 
for  a  trip  through  the  enemy's  country.  Shortly  after  he 
received  a  message  from  his  Colonel  requesting  him  to 
repair  to  his  tent.  The  Colonel  received  him  politely,  and 
invited  him  to  breakfast  with  him.  The  aroma  of  coffee 
made  this  invitation  peculiarly  acceptable — for  luxuries 
were  scarce  in  camp — and  the  breakfast  proceeded  for 
some  time  very  agreeably.  When  Meek  had  breakfasted, 
Colonel  Cornelius  took  occasion  to  inquire  if  the  Major 
had  not  heard  his  order  against  firing  in  camp.  "  Yes," 
said  Meek.  "  Then,"  said  the  Colonel,  "  I  shall  be 
obliged  to  make  an  example  of  you." 

While  Meek  stood  aghast  at  the  idea  of  punishment,  a 
guard  appeared  at  the  door  of  the  tent,  and  he  heard 
what  his  punishment  was  to  be,  "  Mark  time  for  twenty 
minutes  in  the  presence  of  the  whole  regiment." 

"When  the  command  "forward!  was  given,"  says  Meek, 
"  you  might  have  seen  somebody  step  off  lively,  the  offi- 
cer counting  it  off,  'left,  left.'  But  some  of  the  regiment 
grumbled  more  about  it  than  I  did.  I  just  got  my  horse 
and  my  dispatches  and  left  for  the  lower  country,  and 
when  I  returned  I  asked  for  my  discharge,  and  got  it." 

And  here  ends  the  career  of  our  hero  as  a  public  man. 
The  history  of  the  young  State,  of  which  he  is  so  old  a 
pioneer  furnishes  ample  material  for  an  interesting  volume, 
and  will  sometime  be  written  by  an  abler  than  our  sketchy 
pen. 


PAET    II. 
OTJE 

CENTENNIAL  INDIAN  WAR 

AND    THE 

LIFE  OF  GENERAL  OUSTER. 


INTRODUCTION. 


The  reader  of  the  foregoing  pages  can  hardly  have 
failed  to  observe,  that  the  region  east  of  the  Big  Horn 
Mountains,  including  the  valleys  of  the  Yellowstone, 
Big  Horn,  Powder,  and  Rosebud  Rivers,  was  the 
favorite  haunt  of  the  Rocky  Mountain  hunters  and 
trappers — the  field  of  many  of  their  stirring  adventures 
and  hardy  exploits.  Here  was  the  "  hunters'  para- 
dise," where  they  came  to  secure  game  for  food  and 
to  feed  their  animals  on  the  nutritious  bark  of  the 
cottonwoods ;  here  they  assembled  at  the  Summer  ren- 
dezvous, to  exchange  their  peltries  for  supplies ;  and 
here,  ofttimes,  was  established  their  winter  camp,  with 
its  rough  cheer,  athletic  sports,  and  wild  carousals. 

Here,  also,  between  the  plains  and  the  mountains, 
was  the  dark  and  sanguinary  ground  where  terrific  and 
deadly  combats  were  fought  between  the  Delawares, 
Iroquois,  Crows,  and  Blackfeet,  and  between  the  trap- 
pers and  Indians ;  and  here,  fifty  years  later,  were  en- 
acted scenes  of  warfare  and  massacre  which  cast  a  gloom 
over  the  festivities  of  our  Centennial  anniversary. 

The  recent  campaign  against  the  hostile  Sioux  was 
over  the  identical  ground  where  the  fur-traders  roamed 
intent  on  beaver-skins  and  adventure ;  and  it  is  be- 
lieved that  some  account  thereof,  and  a  sketch  of  the 
renowned  Indian  fighter  who  perished  on  the  Little 
Big  Horn,  may  appropriately  supplement  the  story  of 
the  Mountain-men. 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  I. 

Pagb 
Our  Centennial  War  with  the  Sioux— Scene  of  the  Campaign — General 

Aspect  of  the  Country — The  hostile  Indians  and  their  Grievances — 

The  People  of  the  Frontier— The  Treaty  of  1868— The  Invasion  of 

the  Black  Hills — Sitting  Bull — Immediate  Causes  of  the  War — The 

Indians  Warned   and   Threatened — The  Warning  Disregarded — An 

Appeal  to  Arms — Bishop  Whipple  on  the  Roaming  Indians,  -  -      7 

CHAPTER    II. 

General  Crook's  First  Expedition —  The  March  Northward — Reynolds 
Follows  a  Trail — Camp  of  Crazy  Horse  Discovered  and  Attacked — 
The  Battle  of  Powder  River — Return  to  Fort  Fetterman — Crook's 
Second  Expedition — On  the  Head  Waters  of  Tongue  River — Friendly 
Crows — Battle  of  the  Rosebud — Retreat  to  Goose  Creek  Camp,  -     20 

CHAPTER    III. 
Gen.  Terry's  Expedition — March  from  Fort  Lincoln — Rendezvous  on 
the   Yellowstone — The    Montana   Column — Reno's    Scouting   Party 
Discovers  a  Trail — The  Seventh  Cavalry  Start  up  the  Rosebud — 
Custer  Discovers  an  Indian  Village  and  Advances  to  Attack,  -     26 

CHAPTER  IV. 
Gibbon's  Troops  Cross  the  Yellowstone — March  up  the  Big  Horn — A 
Smoke  Cloud — An  Omen  of  Victory — Crow  Scouts — Indians  in  Front 
— A  Night's  Bivouac  on  the  Little  Big  Horn — Site  of  a  deserted 
Village — Evidences  of  Conflict  —  A  breathless  Scout  —  Intrenched 
Cavalry — Reno  Relieved — "Where  is  Custer?"  -  -  -    SO 

CHAPTER    V. 
Custer's  last  Battle — Revelations  of  the  Battle-field — Theories  as  to  the 
Engagement — Custer  and  His  Officers — Capt.  Tom  Custer — Boston 
Custer — Armstrong  Reed  —  Burial   of  the   Slain  —  Retreat  to   the  • 
Yellowstone — Story  of  Custer's  Scout  "  Curley  " — Death  of  Custer,  -    35 

CHAPTER    VI. 
Reno's  Battles — His  Charge  down  the  Valley,  and  Retreat  to  the  Bluffs 
— Benteen's  Battalion — A  terrific  Assault — Holding  the  Fort — Volun- 
teer Water  Carriers — Removal  of  Indian  Village — Approach  of  Terry 
— Statements  of  Benteen  and  Godfrey — A  Scout's  Narrative,  -    40 

CHAPTER    VII. 
Kill   Eagle  at  Setting  Bull's  Camp — His  Account  of  the  Battles  with 
Custer  and  Reno— "We  have  Killed  them  all  "—What  Buck  Elk  Saw,    62 


IV  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER    VIII. 
Criticisms  on  the  Conduct  of  Eeno  and  Benteen — Reno's  Defence — 
What  Benteen  Says — Gen.  Sheridan  on  the  Custer  Disaster,  -  -    56 

CHAPTER  IX. 
The  Midsummer  Campaign — Adventures  of  a  Scouting  Party — Running 
the  Gauntlet — Indian  Allies — Hazardous  Service — Junction  of  Terry 
and  Crook — Following  the  Trail — At  the  Mouth  of  Powder  River — 
Crook  Starts  for  the  Black  Hills— Short  Rations — Battle  of  Slim 
Buttes — The  Chief  American  Horse — Deadwood — Terry  at  Glendive 
Creek — A  Chase  after  Sitting  Bull — Close  of  the  Campaign — Long 
Dog's  Reconnoitering  Party,      -  -  -  -  -  -     62 

CHAPTER  X. 
Autumn  on  the  Yellowstone — Gallant  Defence  of  a  Wagon  Train— A 
Letter  from  Sitting  Bull — A  Flag  of  Truce — Col.  Miles  and  Sitting 
Bull  Have  a  "  Talk  "  between  the  Lines — An  Exciting  Scene — The 
Council  Disperses — The  Troops  Advance — A  Battle  and  its  Results 
— Escape  of  Sitting  Bull — Surrender  of  Chiefs  as  Hostages,  -  -     70 

•  CHAPTER    XI. 

Terry  and  Crook  at  the  Sioux  Agencies — The  Agency  Indians  Disarmed 
and  Dismounted — A  Gleam  of  Daylight — What  became  of  the  Ponies 
— Red  Cloud  Deposed — Spotted  Tail  Declared  Chief  Sachem — Gen. 
Crook's  Address  to  His  Troops,  -  -  -  -  -77 

CHAPTER  XII. 
Winter  Operations— >Crook's  Expedition — Col.  McKenzie  on  the  Trail 
— A  Night's  March — A  Charge  down  a  Canyon — Destruction  of  a 
Cheyenne  Village — Life  at  the  Tongue  River  Cantonment — Miles' 
Excursion  Northward — Capture  of  Sitting  Bull's  Camp — An  Unfor- 
tunate Affair — Massacre  of  Five  Chiefs — Treacherous  Crows — Win- 
ter March  Southward — Desperate  Battle  in  the  Wolf  Mountains — 
Defeat  of  Crazy  Horse — Red  Horse  Surrenders — His  Story  of  the 
Big  Horn  Battles — Spotted  Tails  Mission — Surrender  of  Roman 
Nose,  Standing  Elk  and  Crazy  Horse,  -  -  -  -    81 

CHAPTER  XIII. 
George  A.  Custer — Early  Youth — Cadet  Life — From  West  Point  to 
Bull  Run— On  Kearny's  Staff— Wades  the  Chickahominy— On  Mc- 
Clellan's  Staff—  Antietam — On  Pleasonton's  Staff— Aldie — A  General 
at  Gettysburg — Pursues  Lee — Falling  Waters — Wounded— Cavalry 
Engagement  at  Brandy  Station — Marriage,      -  -  -  -    90 

CHAPTER    XIV. 
A  Raid  toward  Richmond — With  Sheridan  in  the  Shenandoah  Valley — 
Opequan  Creek — Fisher's  Hill— Commander  of  the  Third  Division — 
Fight  with  Rosser — Sheridan's  Army  Surprised — Defeat  and  Victory 
—The  Cavalry  at  Cedar  Creek— The  last  great  Raid  -  -  -     98 


CONTENTS.  V 

CHAPTER  XV. 
The  last  Struggle  for  Richmond— Custer  at  Dinwiddie  and  Five  Forks 
— Petersburg  Evacuated — The  Pursuit  of  Lee — Jetersville — Sailor's 
Creek — Appomattox — A  Flag  of  Truce — Custer's  Address  to  His 
Soldiers — The  Great  Parade — A  Major  General — Texas — Negotia- 
tion with  Romero,  -  -  ...  .  -  .  106 

CHAPTER  XVI. 
The  Seventh  Cavalry  —  Hancock's  Expedition  —  Tricky  Indians — A 
Scout  on  the  Plains — Camp  Attacked  by  Indians — A  Fight  for  the 
Wagon  Train  —  The  Kidder  Massacre — Court  Martialed  —  Sully's 
Expedition — Battle  of  the  Washita — Death  of  Black  Kettle — Fate  of 
Major  Elliot — Night  Retreat — March  to  Fort  Cobb — Lone  Wolf  and 
Satanta — After  the  Cheyennes — Captive  Women  Recovered,  -  113 

CHAPTER  XVII. 
The  Yellowstone  Expedition  —  Road -hunters — A  Siesta — Dashing 
Indians — A  Trap — Fearful  Odds — Rapid  Volleys — Attack  Renewed 
— Reinforcements — The  Foe  Repulsed — A  Tragedy — The  Revenge  of 
Rain  in  the  Face — Another  Fight — Assigned  to  Fort  Lincoln — Mrs. 
Custer,   ---------  121 

CHAPTER    XVIII. 
The  Campaign  of  1876 — The  Dakota  Column — The  Babcock  Investiga- 
tion— The  Congressional  Committee — Grant's  Displeasure — Appeal 
to  the  President — Custer's  last  Campaign,       -  -  -  -  126 

CHAPTER    XIX. 
Reminiscences  of  General  Custer — Personal  Characteristics,      -  -  132 

CHAPTER    XX. 
The  Indian  Commission  of  1876 — Purchase  of  the  Black  Hills — Indian 
Orators— Speeches  of  Red  Cloud,  Spotted  Tail,  Blue  Teeth,  Running 
Antelope,  Two  Bears,  Red  Feather,  Swan,  White  Ghost,  etc.,  -  138 


28 


THE  INDIAN   WAR. 


CHAPTER    I. 

THE   SIOUX   TRIBES CAUSES    OF   THE   "WAE. 

The  scene  of  the  campaign  against  the  hostile 
Indians  in  1876,  was  the  rugged,  desolate,  and  par- 
tially unexplored  region  lying  between  the  Big  Horn 
and  Powder  Rivers,  and  extending  from,  the  Big  Horn 
Mountains  northerly  to  and  beyond  the  Yellowstone 
River.  This  region  is  the  most  isolated  and  inaccess- 
ible of  any  lying  east  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  and  is 
admirably  adapted  for  Indian  warfare  and  defense. 
Several  rivers,  tributaries  of  the  Yellowstone,  now 
through  it,  and  it  abounds  in  creeks,  ravines,  and 
canyons.  It  is  the  hereditary  country  of  the  Crows, 
who  for  generations  defended  it  against  marauding 
tribes  of  Blackfeet. 

A  vivid  description  of  the  general  aspect  of  the 
country  and  of  the  hardships  and  perils  of  our  soldiers, 
has  been  given  by  Col.  Nelson  A.  Miles,  of  the  Fifth 
Infantry,  in  a  letter  written  from  the  mouth  of  the 
Powder  River.  "No  service,"  he  says,  "is  more 
thankless  or  dangerous  than  contending  against  these 
treacherous  savages,  and  if  you  will  come  out  and 
learn  the  real  sentiment  of  the  army,  you  will  find 
the  officers  of  the  army  the  strongest  advocates  of  any 
peace  policy  that  shall  be  just  and  honorable.  You 
will  find  us  out  here,  five  hundred  miles  from  railroad 
communication,  in  as  barren,  desolate  and  worthless  a 


8  THE    SCENE    OF    THE    CAMPAIGN. 

country  as  the  sun  shines  upon — volcanic,  broken,  and 
almost  impassable — so  rugged  as  to  make  our  granite 
hills  of  Vermont  and  New  Hampshire  appear  in  com- 
parison as  pleasant  parks.  Jagged  and  precipitous 
cliffs ;  narrow  and  deep  arroyos  filled  with  massive 
boulders;  alkali  water,  or  for  miles  and  miles  none 
at  all ;  and  vegetation  of  cactus  and  sage-bushes,  will 
represent  to  you,  feebly  indeed,  the  scene  of  the 
present  campaign,  in  which  we  are  contending  against 
the  most  powerful,  warlike,  and  best-armed  body 
of  savages  on  the  American  Continent,  armed  and 
mounted  partly  at  the  expense  of  the  Government, 
and  fully  supplied  with  the  most  improved  magazine 
guns  and  tons  of  metallic  ammunition." 

"The  brave  mariner,"  wrote  a  newspaper  corre- 
spondent, "  on  the  trackless  ocean  without  compass, 
is  no  more  at  the  mercy  of  wind  and  wave  than  Terry's 
army,  out  upon  this  vast  trackless  waste,  is  at  the 
mercy  of  his  guides  and  scouts.  The  sun  rises  in  the 
east,  shines  all  day  upon  a  vast  expanse  of  sage-brush 
and  grass,  and,  as  it  sets  in  the  west,  casts  its  dull  rays 
into  a  thousand  ravines  that  neither  man  nor  beast 
can  cross.  The  magnet  always  points  north;  but 
whether  one  can  go  either  north  or  south  can  be  de- 
cided only  by  personal  effort.  An  insignificant  turn 
to  the  wrong  side  of  a  little  knoll  or  buffalo-wallow 
ofttimes  imperceptibly  leads  the  voyager  into  ravine 
after  ravine,  over  bluff  after  bluff,  until  at  last  he 
stands  on  the  edge  of  a  yawning  canyon,  hundreds  of 
feet  in  depth  and  with  perpendicular  walls.  Nothing 
is  left  for  him  to  do  but  to  retrace  his  steps  and  find 
an  accessible  route." 

The  hostile  Indians  with  whom  our  soldiers  have 
had  to  contend  are  no  despicable  foe ;  on  the  contrary 


CHARACTER    OF    THE    FOE.  9 

they  are  quite  able,  in  frontier  warfare,  to  cope  with 
disciplined  troops.  They  tight  in  bodies,  under  skilled 
leaders,  and  have  regular  rules  which  they  observe  in 
battle,  on  their  marches,  and  in  their  camps.  "  They 
have  systems  of  signalling  and  of  scouting,  of  posting 
sentinels  and  videttes,  and  of  herding  their  animals." 
They  are  remarkably  expert  horsemen,  and  are  so  de- 
pendent on  their  steeds,  that  "  a  Sioux  on  foot  is  a 
Sioux  warrior  no  longer."  Gen.  Crook  testifies  to 
their  adroitness  and  skill  as  follows : — 

"  "When  the  Sioux  Indian  was  armed  with  a  bow  and  arrow  he 
was  more  formidable,  fighting  as  he  does  most  of  the  time  on 
horseback,  than  when  he  came  into  possession  of  the  old  fash- 
ioned muzzle  loading  rifle.  But  when  he  came  into  possession  of 
the  breech  loader  and  metallic  catridge,  which  allows  him  to  load 
and  fire  from  his  horse  with  perfect  ease,  he  became  at  once  ten 
times  more  formidable.  "With  the  improved  arms  I  have  seen 
our  friendly  Indians,  riding  at  full  speed,  shoot  and  kill  a  wolf, 
also  on  the  run,  while  it  is  a  rare  thing  that  our  troops  can  hit  an 
Indian  on  horseback  though  the  soldier  may  be  on  his  feet  at  the 
time. 

"  The  Sioux  is  a  cavalry  soldier  from  the  time  he  has  intelli- 
gence enough  to  ride  a  horse  or  fire  a  gun.  If  he  wishes  to  dis- 
mount, his  hardy  pony,  educated  by  long  usage,  will  graze 
around  near  where  he  has  been  left,  read}-  when  his  master  wants 
to  mount  either  to  move  forward  or  escape.  Even  with  their 
lodges  and  families  the}-  can  move  at  the  rate  of  fifty  miles  per 
day.  They  are  perfectly  familiar  with  the  country,  have  their 
spies  and  hunting  parties  out  all  the  time  at  distances  of  from 
twenty  to  fifty  miles  each  way  from  their  villages,  know  the 
number  and  movements  of  all  the  troops  that  may  be  operating 
against  them,  just  about  what  they  can  probably  do,  and  hence 
can  choose  their  own  times  and  places  of  conflict  or  avoid  it 
altogether." 

The  primary  causes  of  the  hostilities  of  the  Indians 
which  made  this  campaign  and  previous  ones  against 
them  necessary,  extend  far  back  and  are  too  numerous 


10  PRINCIPAL    INDIAN    GRIEVANCES. 

to  be  here  fully  stated.  The  principal  Indian  griev- 
ances however,  for  which  the  government  is  responsi- 
ble, are  a  failure  to  fulfil  treaties,  encroachment  on 
reserved  territories,  and  the  dishonesty  of  agents. 
Col.  Miles  speaks  of  our  relationship  with  the  Indians 
for  the  last  fifty  years,  as  the  dark  page  in  our  history, 
which,  next  to  African  slavery,  has  done  more  to  dis- 
grace our  government,  blacken  our  fair  name,  and 
reflect  upon  our  civilization,  than  aught  else.  It  has, 
he  says,  been  a  source  of  corruption  and  a  disturbing 
element,  unconfined  to  any  one  political  party  or  class 
of  individuals. 

Wendell  Phillips  asserts  that  the  worst  brutality 
which  prurient  malice  ever  falsely  charged  the  Indian 
with,  is  but  weak  imitation  of  what  the  white  man  has 
often  inflicted  on  Indian  men,  women  and  children ; 
and  that  the  Indian  has  never  lifted  his  hand  against 
us  until  provoked  to  it  by  misconduct  on  our  part, 
compared  with  which,  any  misconduct  of  his  is  but 
dust  in  the  balance. 

The  great  difference  in  the  condition  and  character 
of  the  Indians  over  the  Canada  line  and  our  own, 
can  only  be  accounted  for  by  the  different  treatment 
they  have  received.  The  Canadian  Indians  are,  on 
the  whole,  a  harmless,  honest  people,  who,  though 
they  are  gradually  disappearing  before  the  white 
man,  bear  him  no  ill-will,  but  rather  the  contrary. 
Bishop  Whipple  of  Minnesota,  an  earnest  advocate 
of  the  peace  policy,  draws  the  following  contrast : — 

"  Here  are  two  pictures — on  one  side  of  the  line  a  nation  has 
spent  $500,000,000  in  Indian  war ;  a  people  who  have  not  100 
miles  between  the  Atlantic  and  the  Pacific  which  has  not  been 
the  scene  of  an  Indian  massacre ;  a  government  which  has  not 
passed  twent}'  years  without  an  Indian  war ;  not  one  Indian 
tribe  to  whom  it  has  given  Christian  civilization ;  and  which 


THE  PEOPLE  OF  THE  FRONTIER.  H 

celebrates  its  centennial  year  b}~  another  bloody  Indian  war.  On 
the  other  side  of  the  line  there  is  the  same  greedy,  dominant 
Anglo-Saxon  race,  and  the  same  heathen.  They  have  not  spent 
one  dollar  in  Indian  war ;  they  have  had  no  Indian  massacres. 
Why  ?  In  Canada  the  Indian  treaty  calls  these  men  '  the  Indian 
subjects  of  her  Majesty.'  When  civilization  approaches  them 
they  are  placed  on  ample  reservations  ;  they  receive  aid  in  civil- 
ization ;  they  have  personal  rights  of  property ;  they  are  ame- 
nable to  law  and  are  protected  by  law ;  they  have  schools,  and 
Christian  people  delight  to  give  them  their  best  men  to  teach 
them  the  religion  of  Christ.  We  expend  more  than  one  hundred 
dollars  to  their  one  in  caring  for  Indian  wards." 

The  results  of  the  Indian  disturbances,  whatever 
their  causes,  have  borne  heavily  on  the  hardy  and  en- 
terprising settlers  along  the  border.  Of  these  citizens 
Gen.  Crook  says : — 

"  I  believe  it  is  wrong  for  a  Government  as  great  and  power- 
ful as  ours  not  to  protect  its  frontier  people  from  savages.  I  do 
not  see  why  a  man  who  has  the  courage  to  come  out  here  and 
open  the  way  for  civilization  in  his  own  country,  is  not  as  much 
entitled  to  the  protection  of  his  Government  as  anybody  else. 
I  am  not  one  of  those  who  believe,  as  many  missionaries  sent 
out  here  by  well-meaning  eastern  socities  do,  that  the  people  of 
the  frontiers  are  cut-throats,  thieves,  and  murderers.  I  have 
been  thrown  among  them  for  nearly  25  years  of  my  life,  and 
believe  them  to  compare  favorably  in  energ}',  intelligence  and 
manhood  with  the  best  of  their  eastern  brethren.  They  are 
mercilessly  plundered  by  Indians  without  any  attempt  being 
made  to  punish  the  perpetrators,  and  when  they  ask  for  protec- 
tion, they  are  told  by  some  of  our  peace  commissioners  sent  out 
to  make  further  concessions  to  the  Indians,  that  they  have  no 
business  out  here  anyhow.  I  do  not  deny  that  my  sympathies 
have  been  with  the  frontier  people  in  their  unequal  contest 
against  such  obstacles.  At  the  same  time  I  do  not  wish  to  be 
understood  as  the  unrelenting  foe  of  the  Indian." 

The  Sioux  Indians,  embracing  several  tribes,  are 
the  old  Dakotahs,  long  known  as  among  the  bravest 
and  most  warlike  aboriginals  of  this  continent.     They 


12  INVASION    OF    THE    BLACK    HILLS. 

were  steadily  pushed  westward  by  the  tide  of  civili- 
zation to  the  Great  Plains  north  of  the  Platte,  where 
they  claimed  as  their  own  all  the  vast  region  west  of 
the  Missouri  as  far  as  they  could  roam  or  fight  their 
way.  They  resisted  the  approach  of  all  settlers  and 
opposed  the  building  of  the  Pacific  Railroad. 

In  1867,  Congress  sent  out  four  civilians  and  three 
army  officers  as  Peace  Commissioners,  who,  in  1868, 
made  a  treaty  with  the  Sioux,  whereby  for  certain 
payments  or  stipulations,  they  agreed  to  surrender 
their  claims  to  a  vast  tract  of  country,  to  live  at  peace 
with  their  neighbors,  and  to  restrict  themselves  to  a 
territory  bounded  south  by  Nebraska,  west  by  the 
104th  meridian,  and  north  by  the  46th  parallel  of 
latitude — a  territory  as  large  as  the  State  of  Michigan. 
"  They  had  the  solemn  pledge  of  the  United  States 
that  they  should  be  protected  in  the  absolute  and 
peaceable  possession  of  the  country  thus  set  apart  for 
them;  and  the  constitution  makes  such  treaties  the 
highest  of  all  authorities,  and  declares  that  they  are 
binding  upon  every  citizen." 

In  the  western  part  of  the  Sioux  territory,  lying 
between  the  two  forks  of  the  Cheyenne  River,  is  the 
Black  Hills  country  with  an  area  of  four  or  five 
thousand  square  miles.  Of  the  interior  of  this  region 
up  to  1874  nothing  was  known  excepting  from  the 
indefinite  reports  of  hunters  who  had  penetrated 
therein.  The  arrival  at  a  trading  post  of  Indians  who 
offered  gold-dust  for  sale  which  they  said  was  pro- 
cured at  the  Black  Hills,  caused  much  excitement ;  and 
a  military  expedition  of  1200  men  was  sent  from  Fort 
Lincoln  in  July  1874,  to  explore  the  Hills  and  ascer- 
tain if  gold  existed  there.  As  was  expected,  no  hos- 
tile enemy  were  encountered  by  the  large  expedition 


THE    TREATY    OF    1868.  13 

which  thus  invaded  the  Indian  territory.  A  few 
lodges  of  Indians  were  met  in  the  Hills,  and  they  ran 
away  notwithstanding  friendly  overtures  were  made. 
An  attempt  was  made  to  lead  the  pony  of  one 
mounted  Indian  to  headquarters,  but  he  got  away, 
and  a  shot  was  fired  after  him  which,  says  General 
Custer,  wounded  either  the  Indian  or  his  pony  as 
Hood  was  found  on  the  ground. 

The  geologists  of  the  expedition  reported  that  there 
was  gold  in  the  Black  Hills,  and  miners  and  others 
began  to  flock  thither.  In  1875,  troops  were  sent  to 
remove  the  trespassers  on  the  Indian  reservation,  but 
as  fast  as  they  compelled  or  persuaded  the  miners  to 
go  away  others  came  to  fill  their  places ;  and  at  the 
present  date  there  are  more  settlers  there  than  ever 
before. 

Of  the  treaty  of  1868  and  the  so-called  peace  policy 
then  inaugurated  various  opinions  are  entertained. 
Gen.  Sherman,  a  member  of  the  commission,  in  his 
report  for  1876,  says: — 

"The  commission  had  also  to  treat  with  other  tribes  at  the  south  ; 
viz, — the  Cheyennes,  Arapahoes,  Kiowas  and  Commaches  ;  were 
engaged  for  two  years  in  visiting  and  confering  with  these 
scattered  bands  ;  and  finally,  in  1868,  concluded  many  treaties, 
which  were  the  best  possible  at  that  date,  and  which  resulted  in 
comparative  peace  on  the  Plains,  by  defining  clearly  the  bound- 
aries to  be  thereafter  occupied  by  the  various  tribes,  with  the 
annuities  in  money,  provisions,  and  goods  to  be  paid  the  Indians 
for  the  relenquishment  of  their  claims  to  this  vast  and  indefinite 
region  of  land.  At  this  time  the  Sioux  nation  consisted  of 
many  distinct  tribes,  and  was  estimated  at  50,000,  of  whom  some 
8,000  were  named  as  hostiles. 

"These  Indians,  as  all  others,  were  under  the  exclusive  jurisdic- 
tion of  the  Indian  Bureau,  and  only  small  garrisons  of  soldiers 
were  called  for  at  the  several  agencies,  such  as  Red  Cloud  and 
Spotted  Tail  on  the  head  of  the  White  Earth  River  in  Nebraska 
.(outside  their  reservation),  and   at  Standing  Rock,  Cheyenne, 


14  BISHOP    WHIPPLE    ON    THE    PEACE    POLICY. 

and  Crow  Creek  on  the  Missouri  River,  to  protect  the  persons  of 
the  agents  and  their  emplo}*es.  About  these  several  agencies 
were  grouped  the  several  bands  of  Sioux  under  various  names, 
receiving  food,  clothing,  etc.,  and  undergoing  the  process  of  civili- 
zation ;  but  from  the  time  of  the  Peace  Commissson  of  1868  to 
the  date  of  this  report,  a  number  of  Sioux,  recognized  as  hostile 
or  '  outlaws,'  had  remained  out  under  the  lead  of  Sitting  Bull  and 
a  few  other  chiefs." 

"  The  so-called  peace  policy,"  says  Bishop  Whipple,  "  was 
commenced  when  we  were  at  war.  The  Indian  tribes  were 
either  openly  hostile,  or  sullen  and  turbulent.  The  new  policy 
was  a  marvellous  success.  I  do  honestly  believe  that  it  has 
done  more  for  the  civilization  of  the  Indians  than  all  which  the 
Government  has  done  before.  Its  only  weakness  was  that  the 
system  was  not  reformed.  The  new  work  was  fettered  by  all 
the  faults  and  traditions  of  the  old  policy.  The  nation  left 
300,000  men  living  within  our  own  borders  without  a  vestige  of 
government,  without  personal  rights  of  property,  without  the 
slighest  protection  of  person,  property,  or  life.  We  persisted  in 
telling  these  heathen  tribes  that  they  were  independent  nations. 
We  sent  out  the  bravest  and  best  of  our  officers,  some  who  had 
grown  gray  in  the  service  of  the  country ;  men  whose  slightest 
word  was  as  good  as  their  bond — we  sent  them  because  the  In- 
dians would  not  doubt  a  soldier's  honor.  The}'  made  a  treat}-, 
and  they  pledged  the  nation's  faith  that  no  white  man  should 
enter  that  territory.  I  do  not  discuss  its  wisdom.  The  Execu- 
tive and  Senate  ratified  it.  ...  A  violation  of  its  plain 
provisions  was  an  act  of  deliberate  perjmy.  In  the  words  of 
Gen.  Sherman,  '  Civilization  made  its  own  compact  with  the 
weaker  party ;  it  was  violated,  but  not  by  the  savage.'  The 
whole  world  knew  that  we  violated  that  treaty,  and  the  reason 
of  the  failure  of  the  negotiations  of  last  year  was  that  our  own 
commissioners  did  not  have  authority  from  Congress  to  offer  the 
Indians  more  than  one-third  of  the  sum  they  were  already  receiv- 
ing under  the  old  treaty." 

"  The  Sioux  Nation,"  says  Gen.  Crook,  in  his  report  of  Sept* 
1876,  "  numbers  many  thousands  of  warriors,  and  they  have 
been  encouraged  in  their  insolent  overbearing  conduct  by  the 
fact,  that  those  who  participated  in  the  wholesale  massacre  of 
the  innocent  people  in  Minnesota  during  the  brief  period  that 


GEN.    CROOK    ON    INDIAN    AFFAIRS.  15 

preceded  their  removal  to  their  present  location,  never  received 
adequate  punishment  therefor.  Following  hard  upon  and  as  the 
apparent  result  of  the  massacre  of  over  eighty  officers  and  men  of 
the  army  at  Fort  Phil  Kearney,  the  Government  abandoned  three 
of  its  military  posts,  and  made  a  treaty  of  unparalleled  liberality 
with  the  perpetrators  of  these  crimes,  against  whom  any  other 
nation  would  have  prosecuted  a  vigorous  war. 

"  Since  that  time  the  reservations,  instead  of  being  the  abode 
of  loyal  Indians  holding  the  terms  of  their  agreement  sacred, 
have  been  nothing  but  nests  of  disloyalty  to  their  treaties  and 
the  Government,  and  scourges  to  the  people  whose  misfortune  it 
has  been  to  be  within  the  reach  of  the  endurance  of  their  ponies. 
And  in  this  connection,  I  regret  to  say,  they  have  been  materially 
aided  by  sub-agents  who  have  disgraced  a  bureau  established  for 
the  propagation  of  peace  and  good  will,  man  to  man. 

"  What  is  the  loyal  condition  of  mind  of  a  lot  of  savages,  who 
will  not  allow  the  folds  of  the  flag  of  the  country  to  float  over 
the  very  sugar,  coffee  and  beef,  they  are  kind  enough  to  accept 
at  the  hands  of  the  nation  to  which  they  have  thus  far  dictated 
their  own  terms  ?  Such  has  been  the  condition  of  things  at  the 
Red  Cloud  Agency. 

"  The  hostile  bands  roamed  over  a  vast  extent  of  country, 
making  the  Agencies  their  base  of  supplies,  their  recruiting  and 
ordinance  depots,  and  were  so  closely  connected  by  intermarriage, 
interest  and  common  cause  with  the  Agency  Indians,  that  it  was 
difficult  to  determine  where  the  line  of  peaceably  disposed  ceased 
and  the  hostile  commenced.  They  have,  without  interruption, 
attacked  persons  at  home,  murdered  and  scalped  them,  stolen 
their  stock — in  fact  violated  every  leading  feature  in  the  treaty. 
Indeed,  so  great  were  their  depredations  on  the  stock  belonging 
to  the  settlers,  that  at  certain  times  they  have  not  had  sufficient 
horses  to  do  their  ordinary  farming  work — all  the  horses  being 
concentrated  on  the  Sioux  Reservation  or  among  the  bands  which 
owe  allegiance  to  what  is  called  the  Sioux  Nation.  In  the  winter 
months  these  renegade  bands  dwindle  down  to  a  comparatively 
small  number ;  while  in  summer  they  are  recruited  by  restless 
spirits  from  the  different  reservations,  attracted  by  the  oppor- 
tunity to  plunder  the  frontiersman,  so  that  by  midsummer  they 
become  augmented  from  small  bands  of  one  hundred  to  thousands. 

"  In  fact,  it  was  well  known  that  the  treaty  of  1868  had  been 
regarded  by  the  Indians  as  an  instrument  binding  on  us  but  not 


16  DELEGATE    STEELE    ON    THE    TREATY. 

binding  on  them.  On  the  part  of  the  Government,  notwithstand- 
ing the  utter  disregard  by  the  Sioux  of  the  terms  of  the  treaty, 
stringent  orders,  enforced  by  military  power,  had  been  issued 
prohibiting  settlers  from  trespassing  upon  the  country  known  as 
the  Black  Hills.  The  people  of  the  country  against  whom  the 
provisions  of  the  treat}-  were  so  rigidly  enforced  naturally  com- 
plained that  if  thej-  were  required  to  observe  this  treaty,  some 
effort  should  be  made  to  compel  the  Indians  to  observe  it 
likewise. 

"  The  occupation  by  the  settlers  of  the  Black  Hills  country  had 
nothing  to  do  with  the  hostilities  which  have  been  in  progress. 
In  fact,  by  the  continuous  violations  by  these  Indians  of  the 
treaty  referred  to,  the  settlers  were  furnished  with  at  least  a 
reasonable  excuse  for  such  occupation,  in  that  a  treaty  so  long 
and  persistently  violated  by  the  Indians  themselves,  should  not 
be  quoted  as  a  valid  instrument  for  the  preventing  of  such  occu- 
pation. Since  the  occupation  of  the  Black  Hills  there  has  not 
been  any  greater  number  of  depredations  committed  by  the 
Indians  than  previous  to  such  occupation ;  in  truth,  the  people 
who  have  gone  to  the  Hills  have  not  suffered  any  more  and 
probably  not  as  much  from  Indians,  as  they  would  had  they 
remained  at  their  homes  along  the  border." 

"  In  1868,"  says  Wm.  R.  Steele,  delegate  from  Wyoming,  "  the 
United  States  made  a  treaty  with  the  Sioux  Nation,  which  was 
a  grave  mistake,  if  it  was  not  a  national  dishonor  and  disgrace  ; 
that  treaty  has  been  the  foundation  of  all  the  difficulties  in  the 
Sioux  country.  In  I860,  Gen.  Pope  established  posts  at  Fort 
Phil  Kearney,  Reno,  and  Fort  Smith,  so  as  to  open  the  road  to 
Montana  and  protect  the  country  and  friendly  Crows  from  the 
hostile  Sioux.  In  keeping  these  posts  and  opening  that  road, 
many  men,  citizens  and  soldiers,  had  been  killed.  Notable 
among  the  actions  that  had  taken  place  was  the  massacre  of 
Fetterman  and  his  command  at  Fort  Phil  Kearney  ;  and  yet 
after  these  men  had  sacrificed  their  lives,  the  Government  went 
to  work  and  made  a  treaty  by  which  it  ignominiously  abandoned 
that  country  to  these  savages,  dismantling  its  own  forts,  and 
leaving  there  the  bones  of  men  who  had  laid  down  their  lives  in 
the  wilderness.  "Was  it  to  be  wondered  at,  under  these  circum- 
stances, that  Sitting  Bull  and  his  men  believed  thej*  were  supe- 
rior to  the  general  government  ?     Any  body  who  knows  anything 


PRESIDENT    GRANT    ON    THE    PEACE    POLICY.  17 

about  Indian  nature  knows  that  the  legitimate  result  of  that  cow- 
ardly policy  of  peace  at  any  price,  was  to  defer  only  the  evil 
day  which  has  now  come  upon  us.  Since  that  time  the  Sioux 
have  been  constantly  depredating  on  the  frontiers  of  Nebraska, 
Wyoming  and  Montana,  and  more  men  have  fallen  there  in  the 
peaceful  vocations  of  civil  life,  without  a  murmer  being  heard, 
than  fell  under  the  gallant  Custer.  The  friendly  Crows  have 
been  raided  with  every  full  moon  ;  so  with  the  Shoshones  ;  and  at 
last  these  outrages  have  become  so  great  and  so  long  continued 
that  even  the  peaceable  Indian  Department  could  not  stand  them 
any  longer,  and  called  on  the  military  arm  of  the  Government  to- 
punish  these  men." 

President  Grant,  in  his  message  of  December,  1876,  uses  the 
following  language  : — "A  policy  has  been  adopted  towards  the 
Indian  tribes  inhabiting  a  large  portion  of  the  territor}-  of  the 
United  States,  which  has  been  humane,  and  has  substantially 
ended  Indian  hostilities  in  the  whole  land,  except  in  a  portion  of 
Nebraska,  and  Dakota,  Wyoming,  and  Montana  territories,  the 
Black  Hills  region,  and  approaches  thereto.  Hostilities  there 
have  grown  out  of  the  avarice  of  the  white  man,  who  has  vio- 
lated our  treat}'  stipulations  in  his  search  for  gold.  The  question 
might  be  asked,  why  the  Government  had  not  enforced  obedience 
to  the  terms  of  the  treaty  prohibiting  the  occupation  of  the 
Black  Hills  region  b}T  whites  ?  The  answer  is  simple.  The  first 
immigrants  to  the  Black  Hills  were  removed  by  troops,  but 
rumors  of  rich  discoveries  of  gold  took  into  that  region  increased 
numbers.  Gold  has  actually  been  found  in  pa}ing  quantity, 
and  an  effort  to  remove  the  miners  would  only  result  in  the  de- 
sertion of  the  bulk  of  the  troops  that  might  be  sent  there  to 
remove  them." 

The  causes  and  objects  of  the  military  operations 
against  the  Sioux  in  1876,  as  stated  by  the  Secretary 
of  War  in  a  letter  to  the  President  dated  July  8th, 
1876,  were  in  part  as  follows: — 

"  The  present  military  operations  are  not  against  the  Sioux 
nation  at  all,  but  against  certain  hostile  parts  of  it  which  defy 
the  Government,  and  are  undertaken  at  the  special  request  of 
the  bureau  of  the  Government  charged  with  their  supervision, 
and  wholly  to  make  the  civilization  of  the  remainder  possible. 


18  THE    INDIANS    WARNED. 

No  part  of  these  operations  are  on  or  near  the  Sioux  reservation. 
The  accidental  discovery  of  gold  on  the  western  border  of  the 
Sioux  reservation  and  the  intrusion  of  our  people  thereon  have 
not  caused  this  war,  and  have  only  complicated  it  by  the  uncer- 
tainty of  numbers  to  be  encountered.  The  young  warriors  love 
war,  and  frequently  escape  their  agents  to  go  to  the  hunt  or  war 
path — their  only  idea  of  the  object  of  life.  The  object  of  these 
military  expeditions  was  in  the  interest  of  the  peaceful  parts  of 
the  Sioux  nation,  supposed  to  embrace  at  least  nine-tenths  of  the 
whole,  and  not  one  of  these  peaceful  treaty  Indians  has  been 
molested  by  the  military  authorities." 

Of  the  hostile  Indians  referred  to  by  the  Secretary 
of  War,  Hon.  E.  P.  Smith,  Commissioner  of  Indian 
Affairs,  reported  Nov.  1st,  1875  : — "  It  will  probably 
be  found  necessary  to  Compel  the  Northern  non- 
treaty  Sioux,  under  the  leadership  of  Sitting  Bull, 
who  have  never  yet  in  any  way  recognized  the  United 
States  Government,  except  by  snatching  rations  occa- 
sionally at  an  agency,  and  such  outlaws  from  the 
several  agencies  as  have  attached  themselves  to  these 
same  hostiles,  to  cease  marauding  and  settle  down,  as 
the  other  Sioux  have  done,  at  some  designated  point." 

Soon  afterwards,  Indian  Inspector  E.  C.  Watkins 
addressed  the  Commissioner  respecting  these  Indians, 
as  follows : — "  The  true  policy  in  my  judgment  is  to 
send  troops  against  them  in  winter,  the  sooner  the 
better,  and  whip  them  into  subjection.  They  richly 
merit  punishment  for  their  incessant  warfare  and  their 
numerous  murders  of  white  settlers  and  their  fami- 
lies, or  white  men  whenever  found  unarmed." 

Early  in  December,  by  the  advice  of  the  Secretary 
of  the  Interior,  Commissioner  Smith  directed  that 
runners  be  sent  out  to  notify  "  said  Indian  Sitting 
Bull,  and  others  outside  their  reservation,  that  they 
must  move  to  the  reservation  before  the  31st  day  of 
January,  1876 ;  that  if  they  neglect  or  refuse  so  to 


THE    WARNING    DISREGARDED.  19 

move,  they  will  be  reported  to  the  War  Department 
as  hostile  Indians,  and  that  a  military  force  will  be 
sent  to  compel  them  to  obey  the  order  of  the  Indian 
officer."  Respecting  this  order  to  the  Indians,  Bishop 
Whipple,  in  a  letter  to  the  New  York  Tribune,  says : — 
"  There  was  an  inadequate  supply  of  provisions  at  the  agen- 
cies that  Fall,  and  the  Indians  went  out  to  their  unceded  territory 
to  hunt.  They  went  as  they  were  accustomed  to  do — with  the 
consent  of  their  agents  and  as  provided  by  the  treaty.  *  *  * 
The  Indians  had  gone  away  from  the  agencies  to  secure  food, 
and  skins  for  clothing.  The  United  States  had  set  apart  this  very 
country  as  a  hunting-ground  for  them  forever.  Eight  months 
after  this  order  to  return  or  be  treated  as  hostile,  Congress 
appropriated  monej'  for  the  seventh  of  thirty  installments  for 
these  roaming  Indians.  It  was  impossible  for  the  Indians  to  obey 
the  order.  No  one  of  the  runners  sent  out  to  inform  the  Indians, 
was  able  to  return  himself  by  the  time  appointed ;  yet  Indian 
women  and  children  were  expected  to  travel  a  treeless  desert, 
without  food  or  proper  clothing,  under  the  penalty  of  death." 

As  the  order  and  warning  were  disregarded  %by  the 
Indians,  the  Secretary  of  the  Interior  notified  the  Sec- 
retary of  War,  Feb.  1st,  1876,  that  "the  time  given 
him  (Sitting  Bull)  in  which  to  return  to  an  agency 
having  expired,  and  advices  received  at  the  Indian 
Office  being  to  the  effect  that  Sitting  Bull  still  refuses 
to  comply  with  the  direction  of  the  Commissioner, 
the  said  Indians  are  hereby  turned  over  to  the  War 
Department  for  such  action  on  the  part  of  the  army 
as  you  may  deem  proper  under  the  circumstances." 

By  direction  of  Lieut.  General  Sheridan,  Com- 
mander over  the  vast  extent  of  territory  included  in 
the  Military  Division  of  Missouri,  Brig.  Gen.  George 
Crook,  Commander  of  the  Department  of  the  Platte, 
an  officer  of  great  merit  and  experience  in  Indian 
fighting,  now  undertook  to  reduce  these  Indian  out- 
laws to  subjection,  and  made  preparations  for  an  expe- 
dition against  them. 


CHAPTER   II. 

BATTLES    OF  THE   POWDER   AND    ROSEBUD. 

General  Crook  started  from  Fort  Fetterman,  W. 
T.,  March  1st,  1876,  at  the  head  of  an  expedition 
composed  of  ten  companies  of  the  2d  and  3d  Cavalry 
under  Col.  J.  J.  Reynolds,  and  two  companies  of  the 
4th  Infantry,  with  teamsters,  guides,  etc.,  amounting 
in  all  to  nearly  nine  hundred  men.  His  course  was 
nearly  north,  past  the  abandoned  Forts  Reno  and 
Phil.  Kearney  to  Tongue  River.  He  descended  this 
river  nearly  to  the  Yellowstone,  scouted  Rosebud 
River,  and  then  changed  his  course  to  the  south-east 
toward  Powder  River.  At  a  point  on  the  head  of 
Otter  Creek,  Crook  divided  his  command,  and  sent 
Col.  Reynolds  with  six  companies  of  cavalry  and  one 
day's  rations  to  folloAv  the  trail  of  two  Indians  dis- 
covered that  day  in  the  snow. 

Col.  Reynolds  moved  at  5  p.  m.  of  the  16th,  and  at 

4.20  a.  m.,  after  a  night's  march  of  thirty  miles,  was 

near   the   forks   of  Powder   River.     The   following 

extracts  are  copied  from  a  letter  written  to  the  New 

York  Tribune: — 

"  A  halt  was  called  here  and  the  column  took  shelter  in  a 
ravine.  No  fires  were  allowed  to  be  kindled,  nor  even  a  match 
lighted.  The  cold  was  intense  and  seemed  to  be  at  least  30° 
below  zero.  The  command  remained  here  till  about  6  o'clock, 
doing  their  uttermost  to  keep  from  freezing,  the  scouts  meantime 
going  out  to  reconnoitre.    At  this  hour  they  returned,  reporting 


CROOK'S    FIRST    EXPEDITION.  21 

a  larger  and  fresher  trail  leading  down  to  the  river  which  was 
about  four  miles  distant.  The  column  immediately  started  on 
the  trail.  The  approach  to  the  river  seemed  almost  impracticable. 
Before  reaching  the  final  precipices  which  overlooked  the  river- 
bed, the  scouts  discovered  that  a  village  lay  in  the  valley  at  the 
foot  of  the  bluffs.  It  was  now  8  o'clock.  The  sun  shone  brightly 
through  the  cold  frosty  air. 

"  The  column  halted,  and  Noyes's  battalion,  2d  Cavalrj',  was 
ordered  up  to  the  front.  It  consisted  of  Company  I,  Capt.  Noyes, 
and  Company  K,  Capt.  Egan.  This  battalion  was  ordered  to 
descend  to  the  valley,  and  while  Egan  charged  the  camp,  Noyes 
was  to  cut  out  the  herd  of  horses  feediDg  close  by  and  drive  it 
up  the  river.  Capt.  Moore's  battalion  of  two  companies  was 
ordered  to  dismount  and  proceed  along  the  edge  of  the  ridge  to 
a  position  covering  the  eastern  side  of  the  village  opposite  that 
from  which  Egan  was  to  charge.  Capt.  Mills's  battalion  was 
ordered  to  follow  Egan  dismounted,  and  support  him  in  the  en- 
gagement which  might  follow  the  charge. 

"  These  columns  began  the  descent  of  the  mountain,  through 
gorges  which  were  almost  perpendicular.  Nearby  two  hours 
were  occupied  in  getting  the  horses  of  the  charging  columns 
down  these  rough  sides  of  the  mountain,  and  even  then,  when  a 
point  was  reached  where  the  men  could  mount  the^r  horses  and 
proceed  toward  the  village  in  the  narrow  valley  beneath,  Moore's 
battalion  had  not  been  able  to  gain  its  position  on  the  eastern 
side  after  clambering  along  the  edges  of  the  mountain.  A  few 
Indians  could  be  seen  with  the  herd,  driving  it  to  the  edge  of 
the  river,  but  nothing  indicated  that  they  knew  of  our  approach. 

"  Just  at  9  o'clock  Capt.  Egan  turned  the  point  of  the  mount- 
ain nearest  the  river,  and  first  in  a  walk  and  then  in  a  rapid  trot 
started  for  the  village.  The  company  went  first  in  column  of 
twos,  but  when  within  200  yards  of  the  village  the  command  '  Left 
front  into  line  '  was  given,  and  with  a  yell  they  rushed  into  the 
encampment.  Capt.  Noyes  had  in  the  meantime  wheeled  to  the 
right  and  started  the  herd  up  the  river.  "With  the  yell  of  the 
charging  column  the  Indians  sprang  up  as  if  by  magic  and 
poured  in  a  rapid  fire  from  all  sides.  Egan  charged  through 
and  through  the  village  before  Moore's  and  Mills's  battalions  got 
within  supporting  distance,  and  finding  things  getting  very  hot, 
formed  his  line  in  some  high  willows  on  the  south  side  of  the 
camp,  from  which  he  poured  in  rapid  volleys  upon  the  Indians. 
29 


22  THE    VILLAGE    OF    CRAZY    HORSE    DESTROYED. 

"  Up  to  this  time  the  Indians  supposed  that  one  company  was 
all  they  had  to  contend  with,  but  when  the  other  battalions 
appeared,  rapidly  advancing,  deployed  as  skirmishers  and 
pouring  in  a  galling  fire  of  musketry,  they  broke  on  all  sides  and 
took  refuge  in  the  rocks  along  the  side  of  the  mountain.  The 
camp,  consisting  of  110  lodges,  with  immense  qualities  of  robes, 
fresh  meat,  and  plunder  of  all  kinds,  with  over  700  head  of 
horses  were  in  our  possession.  The  work  of  burning  immedi- 
ately began,  and  soon  the  whole  encampment  was  in  flames. 

"  After  the  work  of  destruction  was  completed  the  whole  com- 
mand moved  rapidly  up  the  river  twenty  miles  to  Lodgepole 
Creek.  This  point  was  reached  at  nightfall  by  all  except 
Moore's  battalion  and  Egan's  company.  Company  E  was  the 
rear  guard,  and  assisted  Major  Stanton  and  the  scouts  in  bring- 
ing up  the  herd  of  horses  ;  many  of  these  were  shot  on  the  road, 
and  the  remainder  reached  camp  about  9  p.  m.  These  troops 
had  been  in  the  saddle  for  36  hours,  with  the  exception  of  five 
hours  during  which  they  were  fighting,  and  all,  officers  and  men, 
were  much  exhausted. 

"  Upon  arriving  at  Lodgepole,  it  was  found  that  General  Crook 
and  the  other  four  companies  and  pack-train  had  not  arrived, 
so  that  everybody  was  supperless  and  without  a  blanket.  The 
night,  therefore,  was  not  a  cheerful  one,  but  not  a  murmur  was 
heard.  The  tired  men  la}-  upon  the  snow  or  leaned  against  a 
tree,  and  slept  as  best  they  could  on  so  cold  a  night.  Saturday, 
at  noon,  General  Crook  arrived.  In  the  meantime  a  portion  of 
the  herd  of  horses  had  straggled  into  the  ravines,  and  fallen  into 
the  hands  of  the  Indians." 

The  village  thus  destroyed  was  that  of  Crazy  Horse, 
one  of  the  avowedly  hostile  chiefs.  "  He  had  with 
him,"  wrote  Gen.  Crook,  "  the  Northern  Cheyennes, 
and  some  of  the  Minneconjous — probably  in  all  one- 
half  of  the  Indians  off  the  reservations."  The  Indian 
loss  was  unknown.  Four  of  Reynolds'  men  were 
killed,  and  six  men  including  one  officer  were  wound- 
ed. The  whole  force  subsequently  returned  to  Fort 
Fetterman,  reaching  there  March  26th. 

The  results  of  this  expedition  were  neither  conclu- 


CROOK'S    SECOND    EXPEDITION.  23 

sive  or  satisfactory.  Therefore,  Gen.  Sheridan  deter- 
mined to  proceed  more  systematically  by  concentric 
movements.  He  ordered  three  distinct  columns  to 
be  prepared  to  move  to  a  common  centre,  where  the 
hostiles  were  supposed  to  be,  from  Montana,  from 
Dakota,  and  from  the  Platte.  The  two  former  fell 
under  the  command  of  Gen.  Alfred  H.  Terry,  Com- 
mander of  the  Department  of  Dakota,  and  the  latter 
under  Gren.  Crook.  These  movements  were  to  be 
simultaneous,  so  that  Indians  avoiding  one  column 
might  be  encountered  by  another. 

Gen.  Crook  marched  from  Fort  Fetterman  on  the 
29th  of  May,  with  two  battalions  of  the  2d  and  3d 
Cavalry  under  Lieut.  Col.  W.  B.  Royall,  and  a  bat- 
talion of  five  companies  of  the  4th  and  9th  Infantry 
under  Major  Alex.  Chambers,  with  a  train  of  wagons, 
pack-mules,  and  Indian  scouts,  all  amounting  to  47 
officers  and  1,000  men  present  for  duty.  This  expe- 
dition marched  by  the  same  route  as  the  preceding 
one,  to  a  point  on  Goose  Creek,  which  is  the  head  of 
Tongue  River,  where  a  supply  camp  was  established 
on  June  8th.  During  the  preceding  night  a  party  of 
Sioux  came  down  on  the  encampment,,  and  endeavored 
to  stampede  the  horses,  bringing  on  an  engagement 
which  resulted  in  the  discomfiture  and  retreat  of  the 
enemy.  On  the  1 4th,  a  band  of  Shoshones  and  Crows 
— Indians  unfriendly  to  the  Sioux — joined  Crook,  and 
were  provided  with  arms  and  ammunition. 

The  aggressive  column  of  the  expedition  resumed 
the  march  forward  on  the  morning  of  the  16th,  leaving 
the  trains  parked  at  the  Goose  Creek  camp.  The 
infantry  were  mounted  on  mules  borrowed  from  the 
pack-train,  and  each  man  carried  his  own  supplies 
consisting  of  only  three  days'  rations  and  one  blanket. 


24  THE  BATTLE  OF  THE  ROSEBUD. 

At  night,  after  marching  about  35  miles,  the  little 
army  encamped  between  high  bluffs  at  the  head 
waters  of  Rosebud  River. 

At  5  a.  m.  on  the  morning  of  the  1 7th  the  troops 
started  down  the  valley  of  the  Rosebud,  the  Indian 
allies  marching  in  front  and  on  the  flanks.  After 
advancing  about  seven  miles  successive  shots  were 
heard  in  front,  the  scouts  came  running  in  to  report 
Indians  advancing,  and  Gen.  Crook  had  hardly  time 
to  form  his  men,  before  large  numbers  of  warriors 
fully  prepared  for  a  fight  were  in  view. 

The  battle  which  ensued  was  on  both  banks  of  the 
Rosebud,  near  the  upper  end  of  a  deep  canyon  having 
sides  which  were  steep,  covered  with  pine,  and  ap- 
parently impregnable,  through  which  the  stream  ran. 
The  Indians  displayed  a  strong  force  at  all  points,  and 
contested  the  ground  with  a  tenacity  which  indicated 
that  they  were  fighting  for  time  to  remove  their  vil- 
lage, which  was  supposed  to  be  about  six  miles  down 
the  Rosebud  at  the  lower  end  of  the  canyon,  or 
believed  themselves  strong  enough  to  defeat  their 
opponents. 

The  officers  and  men  of  Crook's  command  behaved 
with  marked  gallantry  during  the  engagement.  The 
Sioux  were  finally  repulsed  in  their  bold  onset,  and 
lost  many  of  their  bravest  warriors ;  but  when  they 
fled  they  could  not  be  pursued  far  without  great 
danger  owing  to  the  roughness  of  the  country.  The 
Indian  allies  were  full  of  enthusiasm  but  not  very 
managable,  prefering  to  fight  independently  of  orders. 
Crook's  losses  were  nine  soldiers  killed,  and  twenty- 
one  wounded,  including  Capt.  Henry  of  the  3d 
Cavalry.  Seven  of  the  friendly  Indians  were  wound- 
ed, and  one  was  killed. 


ENCAMPMENT  AT  GOOSE  CREEK.  25 

Gen.  Crook  was  satisfied  that  the  number  and 
quality  of  the  enemy  required  more  men  than  he  had, 
and  being  encumbered  with  wounded  he  concluded 
to  retreat.  The  night  was  passed  on  the  battle-field, 
and  the  next  day  he  started  for  his  camp  on  Goose 
Creek,  which  was  reached  June  19th.  Couriers  were 
sent  to  Fort  Fetterman  for  reinforcements  and  sup- 
plies, and  the  command  remained  inactive  for  several 
weeks  awaiting  their  arrival. 

The  battle  of  the  Rosebud  was  fought  not  very  far 
from  the  scene  of  Custer's  defeat  a  few  days  later, 
and  Gen.  Crook  concludes  that  his  opponents  were 
the  same  that  Custer  and  Reno  encountered. 

"  It  now  became  apparent,"  says  Gen.  Sheridan  in 
his  report  "that  Gen.  Crook  had  not  only  Crazy 
Horse  and  his  small  band  to  contend  with,  but  that 
the  hostile  force  had  been  augmented  by  large 
numbers  of  the  young  warriors  from  the  agencies 
along  the  Missouri  River,  and  the  Red  Cloud  and 
Spotted  Tail  agencies  in  Nebraska,  and  that  the 
Indian  agents  at  these  agencies  had  concealed  the  fact 
of  the  departure  of  these  warriors,  and  that  in  most 
cases  they  continued  to  issue  rations  as  though  they 
were  present." 


CHAPTEE   III. 

TERRY'S   EXPEDITION OPENING    OF  THE   CAMPAIGN. 

General  Terry  left  Fort  Abraham  Lincoln  on  the 
Missouri  River,  May  17th  1876,  with  his  division,  con- 
sisting of  the  7th  Cavalry  under  Lieut.  Col.  George 
A.  Custer,  three  companies  of  infantry,  a  battery  of 
Gatling  guns,  and  45  enlisted  scouts.  His  whole  force, 
exclusive  of  the  wagon-train  drivers,  numbered  about 
1000  men.  His  march  was  westerly,  over  the  route 
taken  by  the  Stanley  expedition  in  1873. 

On  the  11th  of  June,  Terry  reached  the  south  bank 
of  the  Yellowstone  at  the  mouth  of  Powder  River, 
where  by  appointment  he  met  steamboats,  and  estab- 
lished his  supply  camp.  A  scouting  party  of  six 
companies  of  the  7th  Cavalry  under  Major  M.  A.  Reno 
was  sent  out  June  10th,  which  ascended  Powder 
River  to  its  forks,  crossed  westerly  to  Tongue  River 
and  beyond,  and  discovered,  near  Rosebud  River,  a 
heavy  Indian  trail  about  ten  days  old  leading  west- 
ward toward  Little  Big  Horn  River.  After  follow- 
ing this  trail  a  short  distance  Reno  returned  to  the 
Yellowstone  and  rejoined  his  regiment,  which  then 
marched,  accompanied  by  steamboats,  to  the  mouth 
of  Rosebud  River  where  it  encamped  June  21st. 
Communication  by  steamboats  and  scouts  had  pre- 
viously been  opened  with  Col.  John  Gibbon,  whose 


THE  RENDEZVOUS  ON  THE  YELLOWSTONE.      27 

column  was  at  this  time  encamped  on  the  north  side 
of  the  Yellowstone,  near  by. 

Col.  Gibbon  of  the  7th  Infantry  had  left  Fort  Ellis 
in  Montana  about  the  middle  of  May,  with  a  force 
consisting  of  six  companies  of  his  regiment,  and  four 
companies  of  the  2d  Cavalry  under  Major  J.  S.  Bris- 
bin.  He  had  marched  eastward  down  the  north 
bank  of  the  Yellowstone  to  the  mouth  of  the  Rose- 
bud, where  he  encamped  about  June  1st. 

Gen.  Terry  now  consulted  with  Gibbon  and  Custer, 
and  decided  upon  a  plan  for  attacking  the  Indians 
who  were  believed  to  be  assembled  in  large  numbers 
near  Big  Horn  River.  Custer  with  his  regiment  was 
to  ascend  the  valley  of  the  Rosebud,  and  then  turn 
towards  Little  Big  Horn  River,  keeping  well  to  the 
south.  Gibbon's  troops  were  to  cross  the  Yellowstone 
at  the  mouth  of  Big  Horn  River,  and  march  up  the 
Big  Horn  to  its  junction  with  the  Little  Big  Horn, 
to  co-operate  with  Custer.  It  was  hoped  that  the 
Indians  would  thus  be  brought  between  the  two 
forces  so  that  their  escape  would  be  impossible. 

Col.  Gibbon's  column  was  immediately  put  in 
motion  for  the  mouth  of  the  Big  Horn.  On  the  next 
day,  June  2 2d,  at  noon,  Custer  announced  himself 
ready  to  start,  and  drew  out  his  regiment.  It  con- 
sisted of  12  companies,  numbering  28  officers  and  747 
soldiers.  There  were  also  a  strong  detachment  of 
scouts  and  guides,  several  civilians,  and  a  supply  train 
of  185  pack  mules.  Gen.  Terry  reviewed  the  column 
in  the  presence  of  Gibbon  and  Brisbin,  and  it  was 
j3ronounced  in  splendid  condition.  "The  officers 
clustered  around  Terry  for  a  final  shake  of  the  hand, 
the  last  good-bye  was  said,  and  in  the  best  of  spirits, 


28  TERRY'S    ORDERS    TO    CUSTER. 

filled  with  high  hopes,  they  galloped  away — many  of 
them  to  their  death." 

Gen.  Terry's  orders  to  Custer  were  as  follows : — 

Camp  at  the  mouth  of  Rosebud  River,  ) 
June  22d,  1876.      ) 
Lieut.  Col.  Custer,  7th  Cavalry. 

Colonel  :  The  Brigadier  General  Commanding  directs  that 
as  soon  as  your  regiment  can  be  made  read}'  for  the  march,  you 
proceed  up  the  Rosebud  in  pursuit  of  the  Indians  whose  trail  was 
discovered  by  Major  Reno  a  few  days  ago.  It  is,  of  course,  im- 
possible to  give  any  definite  instructions  in  regard  to  this  move- 
ment, and,  were  it  not  impossible  to  do  so,  the  Department  Com- 
mander places  too  much  confidence  in  your  zeal,  energy,  and 
ability  to  wish  to  impose  upon  you  precise  orders  which  might 
hamper  your  action  when  nearly  in  contact  with  the  enemy.  He 
will,  however,  indicate  to  you  his  own  views  of  what  your  action 
should  be,  and  he  desires  that  you  should  conform  to  them  unless 
you  shall  see  sufficient  reason  for  departing  from  them.  He 
thinks  that  you  should  proceed  up  the  Rosebud  until  you  ascer- 
tain definitely  the  direction  in  which  the  trail  above  spoken  of 
leads.  Should  it  be  found  (as  it  appears  to  be  almost  certain 
that  it  will  be  found)  to  turn  towards  the  Little  Big  Horn,  he 
thinks  that  you  should  still  proceed  southward  perhaps  as  far 
as  the  head  waters  of  the  Tongue,  and  then  turn  toward  the  Little 
Big  Horn,  feeling  constantly,  however,  to  your  left,  so  as  to  pre- 
clude the  possibility  of  the  escape  of  the  Indians  to  the  south  or 
south-east  by  passing  around  your  left  flank.  The  column  of 
Col.  Gibbon  is  now  in  motion  for  the  mouth  of  the  Big  Horn. 
As  soon  as  it  reaches  that  point  it  will  cross  the  Yellowstone, 
and  move  up  at  least  as  far  as  the  forks  of  the  Big  and  Little 
Big  Horn.  Of  course  its  future  movements  must  be  controlled 
by  circumstances  as  they  arise  ;  but  it  is  hoped  that  the  Indians, 
if  up  on  the  Little  Big  Horn,  ma}-  be  so  nearly  inclosed  by  the 
two  columns  that  their  escape  will  be  impossible.  The  Depart- 
ment Commander  desires  that  on  your  way  up  the  Rosebud  you 
should  thoroughly  examine  the  upper  part  of  Tulloch's  Creek, 
and  that  you  should  endeavor  to  send  a  scout  through  to  Col. 
Gibbon's  column  with  information  of  the  result  of  your  examina- 
tion. The  lower  part  of  this  creek  will  be  examined  by  a  detach- 
ment from  Col.  Gibbon's  command.     The  supply  steamer  will 


MARCH    OF    THE    SEVENTH    CAVALRY-.  29 

be  pushed  up  the  Big  Horn  as  far  as  the  forks  of  the  river  are 
found  to  be  navigable  for  that  space,  and  the  Department  Com- 
mander, who  will  accompan}'  the  column  of  Col.  Gibbon,  desires 
you  to  report  to  him  there  not  later  than  the  expiration  of  the 
time  for  which  your  troops  are  rationed,  unless  in  the  meantime 
you  receive  further  orders.     Respectfully,  &c, 

E.  W.  Smith,  Captain  18th  Infantry, 

Acting  Assistant  Adjutant  General. 

After  proceeding  southerly  up  the  Rosebud  for 
about  seventy  miles,  Custer,  at  11  p.  m.  on  the  night 
of  the  24th,  turned  westerly  towards  Little  Big  Horn 
River.  The  next  morning  while  crossing  the  elevated 
land  between  the  two  rivers,  a  large  Indian  village 
was  discovered  about  fifteen  miles  distant,  just  across 
Little  Big  Horn  River.  Custer  with  characteristic 
promptness  decided  to  attack  the  village  at  once. 

One  company  was  escorting  the  train  at  the  rear. 
The  balance  of  the  force  was  divided  into  three  col- 
umns. The  trail  they  were  on  led  down  to  the  stream 
at  a  point  some  distance  south  of  the  village.  Major 
Reno,  with  three  companies  under  Capt.  T.  H.  French, 
Capt.  Myles  Moylan,  and  Lieut.  Donald  Mcintosh, 
was  ordered  to  follow  the  trail,  cross  the  stream,  and 
charge  down  its  north  bank.  Capt.  F.  W.  Benteen, 
with  his  own  company  and  two  others  under  Capt.  T. 
B.  Weir  and  Lieut.  E.  S.  Godfrey,  was  sent  to  make  a 
detour  to  the  south  of  Reno.  The  other  five  com- 
panies of  the  regiment,  under  the  immediate  command 
of  Custer,  formed  the  right  of  the  little  army. 

On  reaching  the  river  Reno  crossed  it  as  ordered, 
and  Custer  with  his  five  companies  turned  northerly 
into  a  ravine  running  behind  the  bluffs  on  the  east 
side  of  the  stream. 


CHAPTEE   IV. 

gibbon's  march  up  the  big  horn  river. 

The  supply  steamer  Far  West  with  Gen.  Terry 
and  Col.  Gibbon  on  board,  which  steamed  up  the 
Yellowstone  on  the  evening  of  June  23d,  overtook 
Gibbon's  troops  near  the  mouth  of  the  Big  Horn 
early  on  the  morning  of  the  24th;  and  by  4  o'clock 
p.  m.  of  the  same  day,  the  entire  command  with  the 
animals  and  supplies  had  been  ferried  over  to  the 
south  side  of  the  Yellowstone.  An  hour  later  the 
column  marched  out  to  and  across  Tulloch's  Creek, 
and  then  encamped  for  the  night. 

At  5  o'clock  on.  the  morning  of  the  25th,  (Sunday) 
the  column  was  again  in  motion ;  and  after  marching 
22  miles  over  a  country  so  rugged  as  to  task  the  en- 
durance of  the  men  to  the  utmost,  the  infantry  halted 
for  the  night.  Gen.  Terry,  however,  with  the  cavalry 
and  the  battery  pushed  on  14  miles  further  in  hopes 
of  opening  communication  with  Custer,  and  camped 
at  midnight  near  the  mouth  of  the  Little  Big  Horn. 

Scouts  sent  out  from  Terry's  camp  early  on  the 
morning  of  the  26th  discovered  three  Indians,  who 
proved  to  be  Crows  who  had  accompanied  Custer's 
regiment.  They  reported  that  a  battle  had  been 
fought  and  that  the  Indians  were  killing  white  men 
in  great  numbers.  Their  story  was  not  fully  credited, 
as  it  was  not  expected  that  a  conflict  would  occur  so 


AN    OMEN    OF    VICTORY.  31 

soon,  or  believed  that  serious  disaster  could  have  over- 
taken so  large  a  force. 

The  infantry,  which  had  broken  camp  very  early, 
now  came  up,  and  the  whole  column  crossed  the 
Little  Big  Horn  and  moved  up  its  western  valley. 
It  was  soon  reported  that  a  dense  heavy  smoke  was 
resting  over  the  southern  horizon  far  ahead,  and  in  a 
short  time  it  became  visible  to  all.  This  was  hailed  as 
a  sign  that  Custer  had  met  the  Indians,  defeated  them, 
and  burned  their  village.  The  weary  foot  soldiers 
were  elated  and  freshened  by  the  sight,  and  pressed 
on  with  increased  spirit  and  speed. 

Custer's  position  was  believed  to  be  not  far  ahead,, 
and  efforts  were  repeatedly  made  during  the  after- 
noon to  open  communication  with  him ;  but  the  scouts 
who  attempted  to  go  through  were  met  and  driven 
back  by  hostile  Indians  who  were  hovering  in  the 
front.  As  evening  came  on,  their  numbers  increased 
and  large  parties  could  be  seen  on  the  bluffs  hurrying 
from  place  to  place  and  watching  every  movement  of 
the  advancing  soldiers. 

At  8:40  in  the  evening  the  infantry  had  marched 
that  clay  about  30  miles.  The  forks  of  the  Big  Horn, 
the  place  where  Terry  had  requested  Custer  to  report 
to  him,  were  many  miles  behind  and  the  expected 
messenger  from  Custer  had  not  arrived.  Daylight 
was  fading,  the  men  were  fatigued,  and  the  column 
was  therefore  halted  for  the  night.  The  animals 
were  picketed,  guards  were  set,  and  the  weary  men, 
wrapped  in  their  blankets  and  with  their  weapons 
beside  them,  were  soon  asleep  on  the  ground. 

Early  on  the  morning  of  the  27th  the  march  up  the 
Little  Big  Horn  was  resumed.  The  smoke  cloud  was 
still  visible  and  apparently  but  a  short  distance  ahead. 


32  THE  DESERTED  VILLAGE. 

Soon  a  dense  grove  of  trees  was  reached  and  passed 
through  cautiously,  and  then  the  head  of  the  column 
entered  a  beautiful  level  meadow  about  a  mile  in 
*  width,  extending  along  the  west  side  of  the  stream 
and  overshadowed  east  and  Avest  by  high  bluffs.  It 
soon  became  apparent  that  this  meadow  had  recently 
been  the  site  of  an  immense  Indian  village,  and  the 
great  number  of  temporary  brushwood  and  willow 
huts  indicated  that  many  Indians  beside  the  usual 
inhabitants  had  rendezvoused  there.  It  was  also  evi- 
dent that  it  had  been  hastily  deserted.  Hundreds  of 
lodge-poles,  with  finely-dressed  buffalo-robes  and  other 
hides,  dried  meat,  stores,  axes,  utensils,  and  Indian 
trinkets  were  left  behind;  and  in  two  tepees  or 
lodges  still  standing,  were  the  bodies  of  nine  Indians 
who  had  gone  to  the  "  happy  hunting-grounds." 

Every  step  of  the  march  now  revealed  some 
evidence  that  a  conflict  had  taken  place  not  far 
away.  The  dead  bodies  of  Indian  horses  were  seen, 
and  cavalry  equipments  and  weapons,  bullet-pierced 
clothing,  and  blood-stained  gloves  were  picked  up ; 
and  at  last  the  bodies  of  soldiers  and  their  horses 
gave  positive  proof  that  a  disastrous  battle  had  taken 
place.     The  Crow  Indians  had  told  the  truth. 

The  head  of  the  column  was  now  met  by  a  breath- 
less scout,  who  came  running  up  with  the  intelli- 
gence that  Major  Reno  with  a  body  of  troops  was  in- 
trenched on  a  bluff  further  on,  awaiting  relief.  The 
soldiers  pushed  ahead  in  the  direction  pointed  out, 
and  soon  came  in  sight  of  men  and  horses  intrenched 
on  top  of  a  hill  on  the  opposite  or  east  side  of  the 
river.  Terry  and  Gibbon  immediately  forded  the 
stream  and  rode  toward  the  group.  As  they  ap- 
jDroached  the  top  of  the  hill,  they  were  welcomed  by 


RENO    RELIEVED.  33 

hearty  cheers  from  a  swarm  of  soldiers  who  came  out 
of  their  intrenchments  to  meet  their  deliverers.  The 
scene  was  a  touching  one.  Stout-hearted  soldiers  who 
had  kept  bravely  up  during  the  hours  of  conflict  and 
danger  now  cried  like  children,  and  the  pale  faces  of 
the  wounded  lighted  up  as  hope  revived  within  them. 

The  story  of  the  relieved  men  briefly  told  was  as 
follows : — After  separating  from  Custer  about  noon, 
June  25th,  (as  related  in  the  last  chapter)  Reno  pro- 
ceeded to  the  river,  forded  it,  and  charged  down  its 
west  bank  toward  the  village,  meeting  at  first  with 
but  little  resistance.  Soon  however  he  was  attacked 
by  such  numbers  as  to  be  obliged  to  dismount  his 
men,  shelter  his  horses  in  a  stiip  of  woods,  and  fight 
on  foot.  Finding  that  they  would  soon  be  surrounded 
and  defeated,  he  again  mounted  his  men,  and  charging 
upon  such  of  the  enemy  as  obstructed  his  way,  re- 
treated across  the  river,  and  reached  the  top  of  a  bluff 
followed  closely  by  Indians.  Just  then  Benteen,  re- 
turning from  his  detour  southward,  discovered  Reno's 
perilous  position,  drove  back  the  Indians,  and  joined 
him  on  the  hill.  Shortly  afterward,  the  company 
which  was  escorting  the  mule  train  also  joined  Reno. 
The  seven  companies  thus  brought  together  had  been 
subsequently  assailed  by  Indians ;  many  of  the  men  . 
had  been  killed  and  wounded,  and  it  was  only  by 
obstinate  resistance  that  they  had  been  enabled  to 
defend  themselves  in  an  entrenched  position.  The 
enemy  had  retired  on  the  evening  of  the  26th. 

After  congratulations  to  Reno  and  his  brave  men 
for  their  successful  defence  enquiries  were  made  re- 
specting Custer,  but  no  one  could  tell  where  he  was. 
Neither  he  or  any  of  his  men  had  been  seen  since  the 
fight  commenced,  and  the  musketiy  heard  from  the 


34 


WHERE    IS    CUSTER? 


direction  he  took  had  ceased  on  the  afternoon  of  the 
25th.  It  was  supposed  by  Reno  and  Benteen  that  he 
had  been  repulsed,  and  retreated  northerly  towards 
Terry's  troops. 

A  search  for  Custer  and  his  men  was  immediately 
began,  and  it  revealed  a  scene  calculated  to  appal  the 
stoutest  heart.  Although  neither  Custer  or  any  of 
that  part  of  his  regiment  which  he  led  to  combat  were 
found  alive  to  tell  the  tale,  an  examination  of  their 
trail  and  the  scene  of  conflict  enabled  their  comrades 
to  form  some  idea  of  the  engagement  in  which  they 
perished. 


CHAPTEE    V. 


custek's  last  battle. 


General  Custek's  trail,  from  the  place  where  he 
left  Reno's  and  turned  northward,  passed  along  and 
in  the  rear  of  the  crest  of  hills  on  the  east  bank  of 
the  stream  for  nearly  three  miles,  and  then  led, 
through  an  opening  in  the  bluff,  down  to  the  river. 
Here  Custer  had  evidently  attempted  to  cross  over  to 
attack  the  village.  The  trail  then  turned  back  on 
itself,  as  if  Custer  had  been  repulsed  and  obliged  to 
retreat,  and  branched  to  the  northward,  as  if  he  had 
been  prevented  from  returning  southerly  by  the  way 
he  came,  or  had  determined  to  retreat  in  the  direction 
from  which  Terry's  troops  were  advancing. 

Several  theories  as  to  the  subsequent  movements 
of  the  troops  have  been  entertained  by  persons  who 
visited  the  grounds.  One  is,  that  the  soldiers  in  re- 
treating took  advantage  of  two  ravines;  that  two 
companies  under  Capt.  T.  W.  Custer  and  Lieut.  A. 
E.  Smith,  were  led  by  Gren.  Custer  up  the  ravine 
nearest  the  river,  while  the  upper  ravine  furnished  a 
line  of  retreat  for  the  three  companies  of  Capt.  Gr.  W. 
Yates,  Capt.  M.  W.  Keogh,  and  Lieut.  James  Calhoun. 
At  the  head  of  this  upper  ravine,  a  mile  from  the 
river,  a  stand  had  been  made  by  Calhoun's  company ; 
the  skirmish  lines  were  marked  by  rows  of  the  slain 
with  heaps  of  empty  cartridge  shells  before  them,  and 


36  THEORIES  OF  THE  ENGAGEMENT. 

Lieuts.  Calhoun  and  Crittenden  lay  dead  just  behind 
the  files.  Further  on,  Capt.  Keogh  had  fallen  sur- 
rounded by  his  men ;  and  still  further  on,  upon  a 
hill,  Capt.  Yates'  company  took  its  final  stand.  Here, 
according  to  this  theory,  Yates  was  joined  by  what 
remained  of  the  other  two  companies,  who  had  been 
furiously  assailed  in  the  lower  ravine ;  and  here  Gen. 
Custer  and  the  last  survivors  of  the  five  companies 
met  their  death,  fighting  bravely  to  the  end. 

Another  theory  of  the  engagement  is,  that  Custer 
attempted  to  retreat  up  the  lower  ravine  in  columns 
of  companies ;  that  the  companies  of  Custer  and  Smith 
being  first  in  the  advance  and  last  in  the  retreat,  fell 
first  in  the  slaughter  which  followed  the  retrograde 
movement ;  that  Yates'  company  took  the  position  on 
the  hill,  and  perished  there  with  Custer  and  other 
officers ;  and  that  the  two  other  companies,  Keogh's 
and  Calhoun's,  perished  while  fighting  their  way  back 
towards  Reno — a  few  reaching  the  place  where  Custer 
first  struck  the  high  banks  of  the  river. 

Still  another  theory  is,  that  the  main  line  of  retreat 
was  by  the  upper  ravine ;  that  Calhoun's  company 
was  thrown  across  to  check  the  Indians,  and  was  the 
first  annihilated.  That  the  two  companies  of  Capt. 
Custer  and  Lieut.  Smith  retreated  from  the  place 
where  Gen.  Custer  was  killed  into  the  lower  ravine, 
and  were  the  last  survivors  of  the  conflict. 

Near  the  highest  point  of  the  hill  lay  the  body  of 
General  Custer,  and  near  by  were  those  of  his  brother 
Captain  Custer,  Lieut.  Smith,  Capt.  Yates,  Lieut.  W. 
V.  Riley  of  Yates'  company,  and  Lieut.  W.  W.  Cooke. 
Some  distance  away,  close  together,  were  found 
another  brother  of  Gen.  Custer — Boston  Custer,  a 
civilian,   who   had   accompanied   the   expedition   as 


CUSTER    AND    HIS    OFFICERS.  37 

forage  master  of  the  7th  Cavalry — and  his  nephew 
Armstrong  Reed,  a  youth  of  nineteen,  who  was  visit- 
ing the  General  at  the  time  the  expedition  started, 
and  accompanied  it  as  a  driver  of  the  herd  of  cattle 
taken  along.  The  wife  of  Lieut.  Calhoun  was  a 
sister  of  the  Custer's,  and  she  here  lost  her  husband, 
three  brothers,  and  a  nephew. 

Other  officers  of  Custer's  battalion  killed  but  not 
already  mentioned,  were  Asst.  Surgeon  L.  W.  Lord, 
and  Lieuts.  H.  M.  Harrington,  J.  E.  Porter,  and  J.  G. 
Sturgis.  The  last  named  was  a  West  Point  graduate 
of  1875,  and  a  son  of  General  S.  D.  Sturgis,  the  Col- 
onel of  the  7th  Cavalry,  who  had  been  detained  by 
other  duties  when  his  regiment  started  on  this  expedi- 
tion. The  bodies  of  the  slain  were  rifled  of  valuables 
and  all  were  mutilated  excepting  Gen.  Custer,  and 
Mark  Kellogg — a  correspondent  of  the  New  York 
Herald.  Gen.  Custer  was  clad  in  a  buckskin  suit ;  and 
a  Canadian — Mr.  Macdonald  —  was  subsequently  in- 
formed by  Indians  who  were  in  the  fight,  that  for  this 
reason  he  was  not  mangled,  as  they  took  him  to  be 
some  brave  hunter  accidentally  with  the  troops. 
Others  believe  that  Custer  was  passed  by  from  respect 
for  the  heroism  of  one  whom  the  Indians  had  learned 
to  fear  and  admire. 

The  dead  were  buried  June  28th,  where  they  fell, 
Major  Reno  and  the  survivors  of  his  regiment  per- 
forming the  last  sad  rites  over  their  comrades. 

A  retreat  to  the  mouth  of  Big  Horn  River  was  now 
ordered  and  successfully  effected,  the  wounded  being 
comfortably  transported  on  mule  litters  to  the  mouth 
of  the  Little  Big  Horn,  where  they  were  placed  on  a 
steamboat  and  taken  to  Fort  Lincoln.  Gibbon's 
Cavalry  followed  the  Indians  for  about  ten  miles,  and 
30 


38  CURLEY'S    STORY    OF    THE    MASSACRE. 

ascertained  that  they  had  moved  to  the  south  and 
west  by  several  trails.  A  good  deal  of  property  had 
been  thrown  away  by  them  to  lighten  their  march, 
and  was  found  scattered  about.  Many  of  their  dead 
were  also  discovered  secreted  in  ravines  a  long  dis- 
tance from  the  battle  field. 

At  the  boat  was  found  one  of  Custer's  scouts,  who 
had  been  in  the  fight — a  Crow  named  Curley;  his 
story  was  as  follows : — 

"  Custer  kept  down  the  river  on  the  north  bank  four  miles, 
after  Reno  had  crossed  to  the  south  side  above.  He  thought 
Reno  would  drive  down  the  valley,  to  attack  the  village  at  the 
upper  end,  while  he  (Custer)  would  go  in  at  the  lower  end. 
Custer  had  to  go  further  down  the  river  and  further  away  from 
Reno  than  he  wished  on  account  of  the  steep  bank  along  the 
north  side  ;  but  at  last  he  found  a  ford  and  dashed  for  it.  The 
Indians  met  him  and  poured  in  a  heavy  fire  from  across  the  nar- 
row river.  Custer  dismounted  to  fight  on  foot,  but  could  not 
get  his  skirmishers  over  the  stream.  Meantime  hundreds  of 
Indians,  on  foot  and  on  ponies,  poured  over  the  river,  which  was 
only  about  three  feet  deep,  and  filled  the  ravine  on  each  side  of 
Custer's  men.  Custer  then  fell  back  to  some  high  ground  behind 
him  and  seized  the  ravines  in  his  immediate  vicinit}-.  The  Indi- 
ans completely  surrounded  Custer  and  poured  in  a  terrible  fire 
on  all  sides.  They  charged  Custer  on  foot  in  vast  numbers,  but 
were  again  and  again  driven  back. 

"  The  fight  began  about  2  o'clock,  and  lasted  almost  until  the 
sun  went  down  over  the  hills.  The  men  fought  desperately,  and 
after  the  ammunition  in  their  belts  was  exhausted  went  to  their 
saddlebags,  got  more  and  continued  the  fight.  Custer  lived  until 
nearly  all  his  men  had  been  killed  or  wounded,  and  went  about 
encouraging  his  soldiers  to  fight  on.  He  got  a  shot  in  the  left 
side  and  sat  down,  with  his  pistol  in  his  hand.  Another  shot 
struck  Custer  in  the  breast,  and  he  fell  over.  The  last  officer 
killed  was  a  man  who  rode  a  white  horse — believed  to  be  Lieut. 
Cooke,  as  Cooke  and  Calhoun  were  the  only  officers  who  rode 
white  horses. 

"  When  he  saw  Custer  hopelessly  surrounded  he  watched  his 


TERRY'S    DESPATCH    TO    SHERIDAN.  39 

opportunity,  got  a  Sioux  blanket,  put  it  on,  and  worked  up  a 
ravine,  and  when  the  Sioux  charged,  he  got  among  them  and 
they  did  not  know  him  from  one  of  their  own  men.  There  were 
some  mounted  Sioux,  and  seeing  one  fall,  he  ran  to  him,  mount- 
ed his  pony,  and  galloped  down  as  if  going  towards  the  white 
men,  but  went  up  a  ravine  and  got  away.  As  he  rode  off  he 
saw,  when  nearly  a  mile  from  the  battle  field,  a  dozen  or  more 
soldiers  in  a  ravine,  fighting  with  Sioux  all  around  them.  He 
thinks  all  were  killed,  as  they  were  outnumbered  five  to  one,  and 
apparently  dismounted.  The  battle  was  desperate  in  the  ex- 
treme, and  more  Indians  than  white  men  must  have  been  killed." 

The  following  extract  is  from  a  letter  written  to 
Gen.  Sheridan  by  Gen.  Terry  at  his  camp  on  the  Big 
Horn,  July  2d: — 

"  We  calculated  it  would  take  Gibbon's  command  until  the 
26th  to  reach  the  mouth  of  the  Little  Big  Horn,  and  that  the 
wide  sweep  I  had  proposed  Custer  should  make  would  require  so 
much  time  that  Gibbon  would  be  able  to  co-operate  with  him  in 
attacking  any  Indians  that  might  be  found  on  the  stream.  I 
asked  Custer  how 'long  his  marches  would  be.  He  said  they 
would  be  at  the  rate  of  about  30  miles  a  day.  Measurements 
were  made  and  calculations  based  on  that  rate  of  progress.  I 
talked  with  him  about  his  strength,  and  at  one  time  suggested 
that  perhaps  it  would  be  well  for  me  to  take  Gibbon's  cavalry 
and  go  #with  him.  To  the  latter  suggestion  he  replied  : — that, 
without  reference  to  the  command,  he  would  prefer  his  own  reg- 
iment alone.  As  a  homogeneous  body,  as  much  could  be  done 
with  it  as  with  the  two  combined.  He  expressed  the  utmost 
confidence  that  he  had  all  the  force  that  he  could  need,  and  I 
shared  his  confidence.  The  plan  adopted  was  the  only  one 
which  promised  to  bring  the  infantry  into  action,  and  I  desired 
to  make  sure  of  things  by  getting  up  every  available  man.  I 
offered  Custer  the  batten-  of  Gatling  guns,  but  he  declined  it, 
saying  that  it  might  embarrass  him,  and  that  he  was  strong 
enough  without  it.  The  movements  proposed  by  General  Gib- 
bon's column  were  carried  out  to  the  letter,  and  had  the  attack 
been  deferred  until  it  was  up,  I  cannot  doubt  that  we  should 
have  been  successful." 


CHAPTEK   VI. 

RENO's    BATTLES    ON   THE   LITTLE    BIG   HOEH". 

After  the  battle  in  which  Lieut.  Col.  Custer  lost 
his  life,  the  command  of  the  7th  Cavalry  regiment  de- 
volved on  Major  Reno.  The  following  is  a  copy  of 
Reno's  official  report  to  Gen.  Terry,  excepting  that  a 
few  unimportant  paragraphs  are  omitted.  It  is  dated 
July  5th,  1876. 

"  The  regiment  left  the  camp  at  the  mouth  of  Rosebud  River, 
after  passing  in  review  before  the  department  commander,  under 
command  of  Brevet  Major  General  G.  A,  Custer,  Lieutenant 
Colonel,  on  the  afternoon  of  the  22d  of  June,  and  marched  up 
the  Rosebud  12  miles  and  encamped.  23d — Marched  up  the 
Rosebud,  passing  many  old  Indian  camps,  and  following  a  very 
large  lodge-pole  trail,  but  not  fresh,  making  33  miles.  24th — The 
march  was  continued  up  the  Rosebud,  the  trail  and  signs  fresh- 
ening with  every  mile  until  we  had  made  28  miles,  and  we  then 
encamped  and  waited  for  information  from  the  scouts.  At  9.25 
p.  m.,  Custer  called  the  officers  together,  and  informed  us  that 
beyond  a  doubt  the  village  was  in  the  valley  of  the  Little  Big 
Horn,  and  that  to  reach  it,  it  was  necessary  to  cross  the  divide 
between  the  Rosebud  and  Little  Big  Horn,  and  it  would  be  im- 
possible to  do  so  in  the  daytime  without  discovering  our  march 
to  the  Indians  ;  that  we  would  prepare  to  move  at  1 1  p.  m.  This 
was  done,  the  line  of  march  turning  from  the  Rosebud  to  the 
right,  up  one  of  its  branches,  which  headed  near  the  summit  of 
the  divide. 

"  About  2  a.  m.  of  the  25th,  the  scouts  told  him  that  he  could  not 
cross  the  divide  before  daylight.  We  then  made  coffee  and 
rested  for  three  hours,  at  the  expiration  of  which  time  the  march 
was  resumed,  the  divide  crossed,  and  about  8  a.  m.  the  command 


RENO'S  CHARGE  DOWN  THE  VALLEY.        41 

was  in  the  valley  of  one  of  the  branches. of  the  Little  Big  Horn. 
By  this  time  Indians  had  been  seen,  and  it  was  certain  that  we 
could  not  surprise  them,  and  it  was  determined  to  move  at  once 
to  the  attack. 

"Previous  to  this  no  division  of  the  regiment  bad  been  made 
since  the  order  was  issued  on  the  Yellowstone,  annulling  wing 
and  battalion  organizations.  General  Custer  informed  me  he 
would  assign  commands  on  the  march.  I  was  ordered  by  Lieut. 
"VY.  "W.  Cooke,  Adjutant,  to  assume  command  of  Companies  M, 
A,  and  G  ;  Capt.  Benteen  of  Companies  H,  D,  and  K ;  Custer 
retaining  C,  E,  F,  I,  and  L,  under  his  immediate  command  ;  and 
Company  B,  Capt.  McDougall,  being  in  rear  of  the  pack  train. 
I  assumed  command  of  the  companies  assigned  to  me,  and  with- 
out any  definite  orders,  moved  forward  with  the  rest  of  the  col- 
umn, and  well  to  its  left.  I  saw  Benteen  moving  further  to  the 
left,  and,  as  they  passed,  he  told  me  he  had  orders  to  move  well 
to  the  left,  and  sweep  everything  before  him  ;  I  did  not  see  him 
again  until  about  2:30  p.  m.  The  command  moved  down  the 
creek  towards  the  Little  Big  Horn  Valley.  Custer  with  five 
companies  on  the  right  bank ;  myself  and  three  companies  on 
the  left  bank  ;  and  Benteen  further  to  the  left,  and  out  of  sight. 

"  As  we  approached  a  deserted  village,  in  which  was  standing 
one  tepee,  about  11a.  m.,  Custer  motioned  me  to  cross  to  him, 
which  I  did,  and  moved  nearer  to  his  column,  until  about  12.30 
a.  m.,  when  Lieut.  Cooke  came  to  me  and  said  the  village  was 
only  two  miles  ahead  and  running  away.  To  l  move  forward  at  as 
rapid  a  gait  as  I  thought  prudent  and  to  charge  afterward,  and 
that  the  whole  outfit  would  support  me.'  I  think  those  were  his 
exact  words.  I  at  once  took  a  fast  trot,  and  moved  down 
about  two  miles,  when  I  came  to  a  ford  of  the  river.  I  crossed 
immediately,  and  halted  about  ten  minutes  or  less,  to  gather  the 
battalion,  sending  word  to  Custer  that  I  had  everything  in  front 
of  me,  and  that  they  were  strong. 

"  I  deployed,  and,  with  the  Ree  scouts  on  my  left,  charged 
down  the  valley,  driving  the  Indians  with  great  ease  for  about 
1\  miles.  I,  however,  soon  saw  that  I  was  being  drawn  into 
some  trap,  as  they  certainly  would  fight  harder,  and  especially  as 
we  were  nearing  their  village,  which  was  still  standing  ;  besides, 
I  could  not  see  Custer  or  any  other  support ;  and  at  the  same  time 
the  very  earth  seemed  to  grow  Indians,  and  they  were  running 


42  THE    RETREAT    TO    THE    BLUFFS. 

toward  me  in  swarms,  and  from  all  directions.  I  saw  I  must 
defend  myself,  and  give  up  the  attack  mounted.  This  I  did, 
taking  possession  of  a  point  of  woods,  which  furnished  near  its 
edge  a  shelter  for  the  horses ;  dismounted,  and  fought  them  on 
foot,  making  headway  through  the  woods.  I  soon  found  myself 
in  the  near  vicinityof  the  village,  saw  that  I  was  fighting  odds  of 
at  least  five  to  one,  and  that  my  only  hope  was  to  get  out  of  the 
woods,  where  I  would  soon  have  been  surrounded,  and  gain  some 
high  ground.  I  accomplished  this  by  mounting  and  charging  the 
Indians  between  me  and  the  bluffs  on  the  opposite  side  of  the 
river.  In  this  charge  First  Lieut.  Donald  Mcintosh,  Second 
Lieut.  Benjamin  H.  Hodgson,  and  Acting  Assistant  Surgeon  J. 
M.  De  Wolf  were  killed. 

"  I  succeeded  in  reaching  the  top  of  the  bluff,  with  a  loss  of  the 
three  officers  and  29  enlisted  men  killed,  and  seven  men  wounded. 
Almost  at  the  same  time  I  reached  the  top,  mounted  men  were 
seen  to  be  coming  toward  us,  and  it  proved  to  be  Capt.  Benteen's 
battalion,  Companies  H,  D,  and  K ;  we  joined  forces,  and  in  a 
short  time  the  pack  train  came  up.  As  senior  my  command  was 
then  Companies  A,  B,  D,  G,  H,  K,  and  M,  about  380  men ;  and 
the  following  officers : — Captains  Benteen,  Weir,  French,  and 
McDougall,  First  Lieutenants  Godfrey,  Mathey,  and  Gibson, 
Second  Lieutenants  Edgerly,  Wallace,  Varnum,  and  Hare,  and 
A.  A.  Surgeon  Porter.  First  Lieut.  De  Rudio  was  in  the  dis- 
mounted fight  in  the  woods,  but  having  some  trouble  with  his 
horse  did  not  join  the  command  in  the  charge  out,  and  hiding 
himself  in  the  woods,  joined  the  command  after  nightfall  of  the 
26th. 

"  Still  hearing  nothing  of  Custer,  and  with  this  reinforcement, 
I  moved  down  the  river  in  the  direction  of  the  village,  keeping  on 
the  bluffs.  We  had  heard  firing  in  that  direction,  and  knew  it 
could  only  be  Custer.  I  moved  to  the  summit  of  the  highest 
bluff,  but  seeing  and  hearing  nothing,  sent  Capt.  Weir,  with  his 
company,  to  open  communication  with  the  other  command.  He 
soon  sent  back  word  by  Lieut.  Hare  that  he  could  go  no  further, 
and  that  the  Indians  were  getting  around  him.  At  this  time  he 
was  keeping  up  a  heavy  fire  from  his  skirmish  line.  I  at  once 
turned  everj-thing  back  to  the  first  position  I  had  taken  on  the 
bluff,  and  which  seemed  to  me  the  best.  I  dismounted  the  men, 
had  the  horses  and  mules  of  the  pack  train  driven  together  in  a 


A    TERRIFIC    ASSAULT— HOLDING    THE    FORT.  43 

depression,  put  the  men  on  the  crests  of  the  hills  making  the 
depression,  and  had  hardly  done  so  when  I  was  furiously  attack- 
ed. This  was  about  6  p.  m.  We  held  our  ground,  with  the  loss 
of  18  enlisted  men  killed  and  46  wounded,  until  the  attack  ceased, 
about  9  p.  m. 

''  As  I  knew  by  this  time  their  overwhelming  numbers,  and  had 
given  up  any  support  from  the  portion  of  the  regiment  with  Cus- 
ter, I  had  the  men  dig  rifle-pits  ;  barricaded  with  dead  horses, 
mules,  and  boxes  of  hard  bread,  the  opening  of  the  depression 
toward  the  Indians  in  which  the  animals  were  herded  ;  and  made 
every  exertion  to  be  ready  for  what  I  saw  would  be  a  terrific 
assault  the  next  da}\  All  this  night  the  men  were  bus}',  and  the 
Indians  holding  a  scalp  dance  underneath  us  in  the  bottom  and 
in  our  hearing. 

"  On  the  morning  of  the  26th  I  felt  confident  that  I  could  hold 
my  own,  and  was  read}-  as  far  as  I  could  be,  when  at  daylight, 
about  2:30  a.  m.,  I  heard  the  crack  of  two  rifles.  This  was  the 
signal  for  the  beginning  of  a  fire  that  I  have  never  seen  equaled. 
Every  rifle  was  handled  by  an  expert  and  skilled  marksman,  and 
with  a  range  that  exceeded  our  carbine  ;  and  it  was  simply  im- 
possible to  show  airy  part  of  the  body,  before  it  was  struck.  We 
could  see,  as  the  day  brightened,  countless  hordes  of  them  pour- 
ing up  the  valle}-  from  out  the  village,  and  scampering  over  the 
high  points  toward  the  places  designated  for  them  b}-  their  chiefs, 
and  which  entirely  surrounded  our  position.  They  had  sufficient 
numbers  to  completely  encircle  us,  and  men  were  struck  on  the 
opposite  sides  of  the  lines  from  which  the  shots  were  fired.  I 
think  we  were  fighting  all  the  Sioux  nation,  and  also  all  the  des- 
perados, renegades,  half-breeds  and  squaw  men,  between  the 
Missouri  and  the  Arkansas  and  east  of  the  Rocky  Mountains. 
They  must  have  numbered  at  least  2,500  warriors. 

"The  fire  did  not  slacken  until  about  9:30  a.  m.,  and  then  we 
discovered  that  they  were  making  a  last  desperate  attempt,  which 
was  directed  against  the  lines  held  by  Companies  H  and  M.  In 
this  attack  they  charged  close  enough  to  use  their  bows  and 
arrows,  and  one  man  tying  dead  within  our  lines  was  touched  by 
the  'coup  stick'  of  one  of  the  foremost  Indians.  When  I  say 
the  stick  was  only  about  10  or  12  feet  long,  some  idea  of  the 
desperate  and  reckless  fighting  of  these  people  may  be  under- 
stood.    This  charge  of  theirs  was  gallantly  repulsed  by  the  men 


44    VOLUNTEER   WATER-CARRIERS-INDIAN   SHARPSHOOTERS. 

on  that  line  led  by  Capt.  Benteen.  They  also  came  close  enough 
to  send  their  arrows  into  the  line  held  by  Companies  D  and  K, 
but  were  driven  away  by  a  like  charge  of  the  line,  which  I  accom- 
panied. We  now  had  many  wounded,  and  the  question  of  water 
was  vital,  as  from  6  p.  m.  of  the  previous  evening  until  now,  10 
a.  m.  (about  16  hours)  we  had  been  without  it.  A  skirmish  line 
was  formed  under  Capt.  Benteen,  to  protect  the  descent  of  volun- 
teers down  the  hill  in  front  of  his  position  to  reach  the  water. 
We  succeeded  in  getting  some  canteens,  although  many  of  the 
men  were  hit  in  doing  so. 

"  The  fury  of  the  attack  was  now  over,  and  to  my  astonish- 
ment the  Indians  were  seen  going  in  parties  toward  the  village. 
But  two  solutions  occurred  to  us  for  this  movement — that  they 
were  going  for  something  to  eat,  more  ammunition  (as  they  had 
been  throwing  arrows),  or  that  Custer  was  coming.  We  took 
advantage  of  this  lull  to  fill  all  vessels  with  water,  and  soon  had 
it  by  the  camp  kettle  full ;  but  they  continued  to  withdraw,  and 
all  firing  ceased,  save  occasional  shots  from  sharpshooters,  sent 
to  annoy  us  about  the  water.  About  2  p.  m.  the  grass  in  the 
bottom  was  set  on  fire,  and  followed  up  by  Indians  who  encour- 
aged its  burning,  and  it  was  evident  it  was  done  for  a  purpose, 
which  purpose  I  discovered,  later  on,  to  be  the  creation  of  a  dense 
cloud  of  smoke,  behind  which  they  were  packing  and  preparing 
to  move  their  tepees. 

"  It  was  between  6  and  7  p.  m.  that  the  village  came  out  from 
behind  the  clouds  of  smoke  and  dust.  We  had  a  close  and  good 
view  of  them,  as  they  filed  away  in  the  direction  of  the  Big  Horn 
Mountains,  moving  in  almost  perfect  military  order.  The  length 
of  the  column  was  fully  equal  to  that  of  a  large  division  of  the 
cavalry  corps  of  the  Army  of  the  Potomac,  as  I  have  seen  it  on 
its  march. 

"  We  now  thought  of  Custer,  of  whom  nothing  had  been  seen 
and  nothing  heard  since  the  firing  in  his  direction  about  6  p.  m. 
on  the  eve  of  the  25tli,  and  we  concluded  that  the  Indians  had 
gotten  between  him  and  us,  and  driven  him  toward  the  boat,  at 
the  mouth  of  Little  Big  Horn  River  ;  the  awful  fate  that  did  befall 
him  never  occurring  to  any  of  us  as  within  the  limits  of  possibili- 
ties. During  the  night  I  changed  my  position,  in  order  to  secure 
an  unlimited  supply  of  water,  and  was  prepared  for  their  return, 
feeling  sure  they  would  do  so,  as  they  were  in  such  numbers.     But 


APPROACH    OF    TERRY.  45 

early  in  the  morning  of  the  27th,  and  while  we  were  on  the  qui 
vive  for  Indians,  I  saw  with  my  glass  a  dust  some  distance  down 
the  valley.  There  was  no  certainty  for  some  time  what  they 
were,  but  finally  I  satisfied  myself  they  were  cavalry,  and  if  so 
could  only  be  Custer,  as  it  was  ahead  of  the  time  that  I  under- 
stood that  General  Terry  could  be  expected.  Before  this  time, 
however,  I  had  written  a  communication  to  Gen.  Terry,  and  three 
volunteers  were  to  try  and  reach  him  (I  had  no  confidence  in  the 
Indians  with  me,  and  could  not  get  them  to  do  anything) .  If 
this  dust  were  Indians,  it  was  possible  they  would  not  expect  any 
one  to  leave.  The  men  started,  and  were  told  to  go  as  near  as 
was  safe  to  determine  if  the  approaching  column  was  white  men, 
and  to  return  at  once  in  case  they  found  it  so  ;  but  if  they  were 
Indians  to  push  on  to  General  Terry.  In  a  short  time  we  saw 
them  returning  over  the  high  bluff  already  alluded  to  ;  they  were 
accompanied  by  a  scout  who  had  a  note  from  Terry  to  Custer, 
saying,  '  Crow  scouts  had  come  to  camp  saying  he  had  been 
whipped,  but  it  was  not  believed.'  I  think  it  was  about  10:30 
a.  m.  that  General  Terry  rode  into  my  lines,  and  the  fate  of 
Custer  and  his  brave  men  was  soon  determined  by  Capt.  Benteen 
proceeding  with  his  company  to  the  battle  ground. 

"  The  wounded  in  my  lines  were,  during  the  afternoon  and  eve 
of  the  27th,  moved  to  the  camp  of  General  Terry  ;  and  at  5  a.  m. 
of  the  28th,  I  proceeded  with  the  regiment  to  the  battle  ground 
of  Custer,  and  buried  204  bodies,  including  the  following  named 
citizens : — Mr.  Boston  Custer,  Mr.  Reed,  and  Mr.  Kellogg. 
The  following  named  citizens  and  Indians,  who  were  with  mjr 
command,  were  also  killed :  —  Charles  Reynolds  (guide  and 
hunter)  Isaiah;  (colored)  interpreter;  Bloody  Knife  (who  fell 
from  immediately  by  my  side)  ;  Bob-tailed  Bull  and  Stab  of  the 
Indian  scouts. 

"  After  following  over  his  trail,  it  is  evident  to  me  that  Custer 
intended  to  support  me  by  moving  further  down  the  stream,  and 
attacking  the  village  in  flank  ;  that  he  found  the  distance  to  the 
ford  greater  than  he  anticipated ;  that  he  did  charge,  but  his 
march  had  taken  so  long,  although  his  trail  shows  he  moved 
rapidly,  that  they  were  ready  for  him ;  that  Companies  C  and  I, 
and  perhaps  part  of  Company  E,  crossed  to  the  village  or 
attempted  it  at  the  charge  and  were  met  by  a  staggering  fire  ;  and 
that  they  fell  back  to  secure  a  position  from  which  to  defend 


46  CAPTAIN    BENTEEN'S    NARRATIVE. 

themselves  ;  but  they  were  followed  too  closely  by  the  Indians  ta 
permit  him  to  form  any  kind  of  a  line.  I  think  had  the  regiment 
gone  in  as  a  bod}',  and  from  the  woods  in  which  I  fought  advanced 
on  the  village,  its  destruction  was  certain  ;  but  he  was  fully  con- 
fident they  were  running,  or  he  would  not  have  turned  from 
me.  I  think  (after  the  great  number  of  Indians  that  were  in  the 
village)  that  the  following  reasons  obtained  for  the  misfortune  : 
His  rapid  marching  for  two  days  and  one  night  before  the  fight, 
attacking  in  the  day  time  at  12  m.  and  when  they  were  on  the 
qui  vive,  instead  of  early  in  the  morning  ;  and  lastly,  his  unfor- 
tunate division  of  the  regiment  into  three  commands. 

"  During  my  fight  with  the  Indians  I  had  the  heartiest  support 
from  officers  and  men,  but  the  conspicuous  services  of  Brevet 
Colonel  F.  W.  Benteen,  I  desire  to  call  attention  to  especially, 
for  if  ever  a  soldier  deserved  recognition  by  his  government  for 
distinguished  services,  he  certainly  does. 

"  The  harrowing  sight  of  the  dead  bodies  crowning  the  height 
on  which  Custer  fell,  and  which  will  remain  vividly  in  my  memory 
until  death,  is  too  recent  for  me  not  to  ask  the  good  people  of 
this  country  whether  a  policy  that  sets  opposing  parties  in  the 
field,  armed,  clothed,  and  equipped  by  one  and  the  same  govern- 
ment, should  not  be  abolished.  All  of  which  is  respectfully 
submitted." 

The  following  is  Capt.  Benteen's  account  of  his  de- 
tour to  the  south  and  junction  with  Reno : — 

"  I  was  sent  with  my  battalion  to  the  left  to  a  line  of  bluffs 
about  five  miles -off,  with  instructions  to  look  for  Indians  and 
see  what  was  to  be  seen,  and  if  I  saw  nothing  there  to  go  on,  and 
when  I  had  satisfied  myself  that  it  was  useless  to  go  further  in 
that  direction  to  rejoin  the  main  trail.  After  proceeding  through 
a  rough  and  difficult  country,  ver}-  tiring  on  the  horses,  and  seeing 
nothing,  and  wishing  to  save  the  horses  unnecessary  fatigue,  I 
decided  to  return  to  the  main  trail.  Before  I  had  proceeded  a 
mile  in  the  direction  of  the  bluffs  I  was  overtaken  b}-  the  chief 
trumpeter  and  the  sergeant  major,  with  instructions  from  Gen. 
Custer  to  use  my  own  discretion,  and  in  case  I  should  find  any 
trace  of  Indians,  at  once  to  notify  Gen.  Custer. 

"  Having  marched  rapidly  and  passed  the  line  of  bluffs  on  the 
left  bank  of  a  branch  of  the  Little  Big  Horn  which  made  into  the 
main  stream  about  two  and  a  half  miles  above  the  ford  crossed  by 


CAPT.  BENTEEN'S  NARRATIVE.  47 

Col.  Reno's  command,  as  ordered,  I  continued  ny  march  in  the 
same  direction.  The  whole  time  occupied  in  this  mai-ch  was 
about  an  hour  and  a  half.  As  I  was  anxious  to  regain  the  main 
command,  as  there  was  no  signs  of  Indians,  I  then  decided  to 
rejoin  the  main  trail,  as  the  country  before  me  was  mostly  of  the 
same  character  as  that  I  had  already  passed  over,  without  valley 
and  without  water,  and  offering  no  inducement  for  the  Indians. 
No  valleys  were  visible,  not  even  the  valley  where  the  fight  took 
place,  until  my  command  struck  the  river. 

"  About  three  miles  from  the  point  where  Reno  crossed  the 
ford,  I  met  a  sergeant  bringing  orders  to  the  commanding  officer 
of  the  rear  guard,  Capt.  McDougall,  to  huny  up  the  pack  trains. 
A  mile  further  I  was  met  by  my  trumpeter,  bringing  a  written 
order  from  Lieut.  Cooke,  the  adjutant  of  the  regiment,  to  this 
effect : — '  Benteen,  come  on  ;  big  village  ;  be  quick ;  bring  packs  : ' 
and  a  postscript  saying,  '  Bring  packs.'  A  mile  or  a  mile  and 
a  half  further  on  I  first  came  in  sight  of  the  valley  and  Little  Big 
Horn.  About  twelve  or  fifteen  dismounted  men  were  fighting  on 
the  plains  with  Indians,  charging  and  recharging  them.  This 
body  numbered  about  900  at  this  time.  Col.  Reno's  mounted 
party  were  retiring  across  the  river  to  the  bluffs.  I  did  not  rec- 
ognize till  later  what  part  of  the  command  this  was,  but  was  clear 
they  had  been  beaten.  I  then  marched  my  command  in  line  to 
their  succor. 

"  On  reaching  the  bluff  I  reported  to  Col.  Reno,  and  first 
learned  that  the  command  had  been  separated  and  that  Custer 
was  not  in  that  part  of  the  field,  and  no  one  of  Reno's  command 
was  able  to  inform  me  of  the  whereabouts  of  Gen.  Custer.  While 
the  command  was  awaiting  the  arrival  of  the  pack  mules,  a  com- 
pany was  sent  forward  in  the  direction  supposed  to  have  been 
taken  by  Custer.  After  proceeding  about  a  mile  they  were  at- 
tacked and  driven  back.  During  this  time  I  heard  no  heavy 
firing,  and  there  was  nothing  to  indicate  that  a  heavy  fight  was 
goinsr  on,  and  I  believe  that  at  this  time  Custer's  immediate 
command  had  been  annihilated." 

In  a  letter  addressed  to  the  Army  and  Navy  Jow- 
rial,  Lieut.  E.  L.  Godfry,  of  Benteen's  battalion,  gives 
the  following  information  : — 

"  Captain  Benteen  was  some  six  miles  from  the  scene  of  action 
when  he  received  Lieut.  Cooke's  note  ;  he  had  no  intimation  that 


48  LIEUTENANT    GODFREY'S    STATEMENT. 

the  battle  had  begun,  of  the  force  of  the  Indians,  or  plan  of 
attack.  Benteen  pushed  ahead ;  the  packs  followed,  and  not 
until  he  reached  the  high  bluffs  over-looking  the  river  valley  and 
near  to  where  the  troops  afterwards  were  beseiged,  did  he  know 
of  the  battle  or  immediate  presence  of  the  troops  to  the  enemy ; 
he  could  only  hear  occasional  shots,  not  enough  to  intimate  that 
a  battle  was  going  on.  Soon  after  reaching  this  point  two 
volleys  were  heard  down  the  river  where  Gen.  Custer  was,  but 
his  force  was  not  in  sight.  Soon  after  this  Reno  and  Benteen 
joined.  By  accident  Benteen's  column  constituted  a  reserve.  It 
was  well  it  was  so.  As  soon  as  dispositions  were  made  on  the 
bluff,  Weir's  company  was  sent  to  look  for  Gen.  Custer.  He 
went  to  a  high  point  about  three-quarters  of  a  mile  down  the 
river,  from  which  he  had  a  good  view  of  the  country.  From  it 
eould  be  seen  Custer's  battle  field,  but  there  was  nothing  to  indi- 
cate the  result.  The  field  was  covered  with  Indians.  He  was 
recalled  from  the  place  ;  the  packs  closed  up  ;  ammunition  was 
issued  and  the  command  moved  down  the  river  to,  if  possible, 
join  Custer.  Upon  reaching  this  high  point  we  could  see  nothing, 
hear  nothing,  to  indicate  Custer's  vicinage.  But  immediately  the 
Indians  started  for  us." 

The  following  is  the  narrative  of  George  Herndon, 
a  scout,  published  in  the  New  York  Herald : — 

"At  11  p.m.,  June  24th,  Custer  followed  the  scouts  up  the 
right-hand  fork  of  the  Rosebud.  About  daylight  we  went  into 
camp,  made  coffee,  and  soon  after  it  was  light  the  scouts  brought 
Custer  word  that  they  had  seen  the  village  from  the  top  of  a 
divide  that  separates  the  Rosebud  from  Little  Big  Horn  River. 
We  moved  up  the  creek  until  near  its  head,  and  concealed  our- 
selves in  a  ravine.  It  was  about  three  miles  from  the  head  of 
the  creek  where  we  then  were  to  the  top  of  the  divide  where  the 
Indian  scouts  said  the  village  could  be  seen,  and  after  hiding  his 
command,  General  Custer  with  a  few  orderlies  galloped  forward 
to  look  at  the  Indian  camp.  In  about  an  hour  he  returned,  and 
said  he  could  not  see  the  Indian  village,  but  the  scouts  and  a 
half-breed  guide  said  they  could  distinctly  see  it  some  15  miles 
off.  Custer  had  'officers'  call'  blown,  gave  his  orders,  and  the 
command  was  put  in  fighting  order.  The  scouts  were  ordered 
forward,  and  the  regiment  moved  at  a  walk.     After  going  about 


GEORGE  HERNDON'S  NARRATIVE.  49 

three  miles  the  scouts  reported  Indians  ahead,  and  the  command 
then  took  the  trail. 

"  Our  way  lay  down  a  little  creek,  a  branch  of  the  Little  Big 
Horn,  and  after  going  some  six  miles  we  discovered  an  Indian 
lodge  ahead  and  Custer  bore  down  on  it  at  a  stiff  trot.  In 
coming  to  it  we  found  ourselves  in  a  freshly-abandoned  Indian 
camp,  all  the  lodges  of  which  were  gone  except  the  one  we  saw, 
and  on  entering  it  we  found  it  contained  a  dead  Indian.  From 
this  point  we  could  see  into  the  Little  Big  Horn  valley,  and  ob- 
served heavy  clouds  of  dust  rising  about  five  miles  distant. 
Many  thought  the  Indians  were  moving  away,  and  I  think  Custer 
believed  so,  for  he  sent  word  to  Reno,  who  was  ahead,  to  push  on 
the  scouts  rapidly  and  head  for  the  dust.  Reno  took  a  steady 
gallop  down  the  creek  bottom  three  miles  to  where  it  emptied 
into  the  Little  Big  Horn,  and  found  a  natural  ford  across  Little 
Big  Horn  River.  He  started  to  cross,  when  the  scouts  came 
back  and  called  out  to  him  to  hold  on,  that  the  Sioux  were 
coming  in  large  numbers  to  meet  him.  He  crossed  over,  however, 
formed  his  companies  on  the  prairie  in  line  of  battle,  and  moved 
forward  at  a  trot,  but  soon  took  a  gallop. 

"  The  valley  was  about  three-fourths  of  a  mile  wide.  On  the 
left  a  line  of  low,  round  hills,  and  on  the  right  the  river  bottom, 
covered  with  a  growth  of  cottonwood  trees  and  bushes.  After 
scattering  shots  were  fired  from  the  hills  and  a  few  from  the  river 
bottom,  and  Reno's  skirmishers  had  returned  the  shots,  he  ad- 
vanced about  a  mile  from  the  ford,  to  a  line  of  timber  on  the 
right,  and  dismounted  his  men  to  fight  on  foot.  The  horses  were 
sent  into  the  timber,  and  the  men  formed  on  the  prairies  and  ad- 
vanced toward  the  Indians.  The  Indians,  mounted  on  ponies, 
came  across  the  prairies  and  opened  a  heavy  fire  on  the  soldiers. 
After  skirmishing  for  a  few  minutes  Reno  fell  back  to  his  horses 
in  the  timber.  The  Indians  moved  to  his  left  and  rear,  evidently 
with  the  intention  of  cutting  him  off  from  the  ford.  Reno  or- 
dered his  men  to  mount  and  move  through  the  timber.  Just  as 
the  men  got  into  the  saddle  the  Sioux,  who  had  advanced  in  the 
timber,  fired  at  close  range  and  killed  one  soldier.  Reno  then 
commanded  the  men  to  dismount,  and  they  did  so  ;  but  he  soon 
ordered  them  to  mount  again  and  moved  out  on  the  open  prairie. 
The  command  headed  for  the  ford,  pressed  closely  by  Indians  in 
large  numbers,  and  at  every  moment  the  rate  of  speed  was 


50  A    SCOUT'S    NARRATIVE. 

increased,  until  it  became  a  dead  run  for  the  ford.  The  Sioux, 
mounted  on  their  swift  ponies,  dashed  up  by  the  side  of  the  sol- 
diers and  fired  at  them,  killing  both  men  and  horses.  Little 
resistance  was  offered,  and  it  was  a  complete  route  to  the  ford. 

"  I  did  not  see  the  men  at  the  ford,  and  do  not  know  what 
took  place  further  than  a  good  man}r  were  killed  when  the  com- 
mand left  the  timber.  Just  as  I  got  out  my  horse  stumbled  and 
fell,  and  I  was  dismounted — the  horse  running  away  after  Reno's 
command.  I  saw  several  soldiers  who  were  dismounted,  their 
horses  having  been  killed  or  having  run  away.  There  were  also 
some  soldiers  mounted  who  had  remained  behind.  In  all  there 
was  as  many  as  13  men,  three  of  whom  were  wounded.  Seeing  no 
chance  to  get  away,  I  called  on  them  to  come  into  the  timber 
and  we  would  stand  off  the  Indians.  They  wanted  to  go  out, 
but  I  said  '  No,  we  can't  get  to  the  ford,  and,  besides,  we  have 
wounded  men  and  must  stand  by  them.'  They  still  wanted 
to  go,  but  I  told  them  I  was  an  old  frontiersman,  understood 
Indians,  and,  if  they  would  do  as  I  said,  I  would  get  them  out 
of  the  scrape,  which  was  no  worse  than  scrapes  I  had  been  in 
before.  About  half  of  the  men  were  mounted,  and  they  wanted 
to  keep  their  horses  with  them  ;  but  I  told  them  to  let  them  go, 
and  fight  on  fo.ot.  We  stayed  in  the  bush  about  three  hours,  and 
I  could  hear  heavy  firing  below  in  the  river,  apparently  about 
two  miles  distant.  I  did  not  know  who  it  was,  but  knew  the 
Indians  were  fighting  some  of  our  men,  and  learned  afterward 
it  was  Custer's  command.  Nearly  all  the  Indians  in  the  upper 
end  of  the  valley  drew  off  down  the  river,  and  the  fight  with 
Custer  lasted  about  one  hour,  when  the  heavy  firing  ceased. 

"  When  the  shooting  below  began  to  die  away  I  said  to  the 
boys, '  Come,  now  is  the  time  to  get  out ;  the  Indians  will  come 
back,  and  we  had  better  be  off  at  once.'  Eleven  of  the  13  said 
they  would  go,  but  two  staid  behind.  I  deployed  the  men  as 
skirmishers,  and  we  moved  forward  on  foot  toward  the  river. 
When  we  had  got  nearly  to  the  river  we  met  five  Indians  on 
ponies,  and  they  fired  on  us.  I  returned  the  fire  and  the  Indians 
broke,  and  we  forded  the  river,  the  water  being  breast-deep.  We 
finally  got  over,  wounded  men  and  all,  and  headed  for  Reno's 
command,  which  I  could  see  drawn  up  on  the  bluffs  along  the 
river  about  a  mile  off.  We  reached  Reno  in  safety.  We  had 
not  been  with  Reno  more  than  15  minutes  when   I   saw   the 


A    SCOUT'S    NARRATIVE.  .    '       51 

Indians  coming  up  the  valley  from  Custer's  fight.  Reno  was 
then  moving  his  whole  command  down  the  ridge  toward  Custer. 
The  Indians  crossed  the  river  below  Reno  and  swarmed  up  the 
bluff  on  all  sides.  After  skirmishing  with  them  Reno  went  back 
to  his  old  position  which  was  on  one  of  the  highest  points  along 
the  bluffs.  It  was  now  about  5  p.  m.,  and  the  fight  lasted  until 
it  was  too  dark  to  see  to  shoot.  As  soon  as  it  was  dark,  Reno 
took  the  packs  and  saddles  off  the  mules  and  horses  and  made 
breastworks  of  them.  He  also  dragged  the  dead  horses  and 
mules  on  the  line  and  sheltered  the  men  behind  them.  Some  of 
the  men  dug  rifle  pits  with  their  butcher  knives  and  all  slept  on 
their  arms. 

"At  the  peep  of  day  the  Indians  opened  a  heavy  fire  and  a 
desperate  fight  ensued,  lasting  until  10  a.  m.  The  Indians 
charged  our  position  three  or  four  times,  coming  up  close  enough 
to  hit  our  men  with  stones,  which  they  threw  by  hand.  Captain 
Benteen  saw  a  large  mass  of  Indians  gathering  on  his  front  to 
charge,  and  ordered  his  men  to  charge  on  foot  and  scatter  them. 
Benteen  led  the  charge,  and  was  upon  the  Indians  before  they 
knew  what  they  were  about  and  killed  a  great  many.  They  were 
evidently  surprised  at  this  offensive  movement.  I  think  in  des- 
perate fighting  Benteen  is  one  of  the  bravest  men  I  ever  saw. 
All  the  time  he  was  going  about  through  the  bullets,  encouraging 
the  soldiers  to  stand  up  to  their  work  and  not  let  the  Indians 
whip  them.  He  never  sheltered  his  own  person  once  during  the 
battle,  and  I  do  not  see  how  he  escaped  being  killed.  The  des- 
perate charging  and  fighting  was  at  about  1  f,  h.,  but  firing  was 
kept  up  on  both  sides  until  late  in  the  afternoon. 

"  I  think  the  Indian  village  must  have  contained  about  6,000 
people,  full}'  3,000  of  whom  were  warriors.  The  Indians  fought 
Reno  first  and  then  went  to  fight  Custer,  after  which  they  came 
back  to  finish  Reno.  Hordes  of  squaws  and  old,  gray-haired 
Indians  were  roaming  over  the  battle-field  howling  like  mad. 
The  squaws  had  stone  mallets,  and  mashed  in  the  skulls  of  the 
dead  and  wounded.  Our  men  did  not  kill  any  squaws,  but  the 
Ree  Indian  scouts  did.  The  bodies  of  six  squaws  were  found 
in  the  little  ravine.  The  Indians  must  have  lost  as  many  men  in. 
killed  and  wounded  as  the  whites  did." 


CHAPTER  .VII. 

KILL   EAGLE'S   NARRATIVE. 

A  vivid  account  of  Custer's  last  battle  lias  been 
given  by  an  Indian  named  Kill  Eagle,  who  was  in 
Sitting  Bull's  village  on  the  day  of  the  fight  as,  he 
claims,  a  non-combatant.  Kill  Eagle  was  head  chief 
of  the  Cheyenne  River  Agency  Indians  who  had 
become  much  dissatisfied.  Capt.  Poland,  formerly 
commander  of  the  troops  at  Standing  Rock,  says  that 
the  Indians  there  were  "  abominably  starved  during 
the  winter  and  spring  of  1875  —  the  authorities  hav- 
ing failed  to  deliver  the  rations  due  them;  and  in 
May  and  June  1876J  the  Indians  received  practically 
nothing  except  two  issues  of  beef  and  ground  corn, 
called  meal,  but  so  coarse  that  one  peck  yielded  but 
a  quart  of  meal." 

Early  in  May,  Kill  Eagle  entered  the  military  post 
with  a  party  of  warriors,  gave  a  dance,  demanded 
rations,  and  proclaimed  "  that  he  owned  the  land  the 
post  was  built  on,  the  timber  and  stone  which  had 
been  used  in  its  construction,  and  that  he  would  have 
the  Great  Father  pay  for  all  these  things ;  that  his 
people  were  starving  and  they  could  get  no  food  from 
the  agent."  The  post  commander  told  them  he  could 
do  nothing  for  them.  Kill  Eagle's  party  manifested 
sulliness,  and  demonstrated  their  defiance  by  firing 
off  pistols  in  the  air  as  they  marched  outside  of  the 


AT    SITTING    BULL'S    CAMP.  53 

garrison.  A  few  days  later  the  post  commander  was 
informed  that  Kill  Eagle  had  started  for  the  hostile 
camp  with  about  thirty  lodges. 

In  September,  Kill  Eagle  came  near  the  post  and 
sent  word  that  he  intended  to  kill  all  the  soldiers 
nnless  they  crossed  the  river.  The  troops  were  under 
arms  all  night  anticipating  an  attack,  but  none  was 
made.  Subsequently  Kill  Eagle  surrendered  to  the 
authorities,  and  gave  them  an  account  of  his  wander- 
ings during  the  summer.  A  letter  written  at  Stand- 
ing Rock  described  his  story  as  follows : — 

"  He  commences  with  the  date  at  which  he  left  this  agency, 
last  spring,  with  26  lodges,  for  the  purpose  of  hunting  buffalo 
and  trading  with  the  hostile  Indians.  He  speaks  of  having 
heard  reports  that  troops  were  going  out  to  punish  the  hostiles, 
but  thought  he  would  have  time  to  do  his  hunting  and  trading 
and  get  out  of  the  way  before  a  battle  occurred.  The}-  were 
obliged  to  hunt,  as  they  were  starving  at  the  agency,  and  were 
very  successful. 

u  On  the  seventh  day  they  arrived  at  Sitting  Bull's  village, 
where  a  feast  and  numerous  presents  of  ponies  and  robes  were 
given  them.  Efforts  were  made  to  induce  Kill  Eagle  and  his 
band  to  join  in  the  contemplated  movements  and  hostilities,  but 
evidently  without  much  success.  They  were  desirous  of  getting 
back  again  to  the  protecting  arms  of  their  agency,  but  were  un- 
able to  escape  from  the  meshes  of  the  wily  Sitting  Bull.  They 
found,  too  late,  that  for  them  there  was  no  escape  ;  their  horses 
were  either  shot  or  stolen,  and  wounds  and  insults  were  showered 
upon  them  from  every  side.  In  the  meantime  the  forces  of 
Crook  were  approaching,  and  with  his  people  Kill  Eagle  suc- 
ceeded in  escaping  temporarily  from  the  hostiles.  He  claims  to 
have  been  distant  some  forty  or  fifty  miles  from  the  scene  of  the 
Rosebud  fight,  and  relates  many  of  the  incidents  which  he  was 
able  subsequently  to  gather  from  the  participants.  He  places  the 
loss  of  the  Indians  in  the  Rosebud  fight  at  four  dead,  left  on  the 
field,  and  twelve  that  were  brought  to  camp.  He  places  the 
wounded  at  as  high  as  400,  and  says  they  had  180  horses  killed, 
besides  those  that  were  captured. 
31 


54         BEFORE  AND  AFTER  THE  BATTLE. 

"  He  next  comes  to  the  fight  on  the  Little  Big  Horn,  and 
describes  £he  Indian  village,  which  was  six  miles  long  and  one 
wide.  He  then  speaks  of  Custer's  approach  and  fight  with  its 
tragic  details  as  an  unwilling  spectator,  rather  than  a  participant, 
who,  during  its  progress,  remained  quietly  in  his  lodge  in  the 
centre  of  the  Indian  village.  The  fight  with  Reno  commenced 
about  noon,  the  Indians  all  rushing  to  oppose  his  advance,  until 
the  approach  of  Custer  toward  the  lower  end  of  the  village  was 
announced,  when  the  wildest  confusion  prevailed  thoughout  the 
camp.  Lodges  were  struck  and  preparations  made  for  instant 
flight.  Vast  numbers  of  Indians  left  Reno's  front  and  hastened 
to  the  assistance  of  their  red  brethren  engaged  with  Custer,  who 
was  steadily  forced  back  and  surrounded  until  all  were  swept 
from  the  field  by  the  repeated  charges  of  the  Indians. 

"  He  described  the  firing  at  this  point  as  simply  terrific,  and 
illustrated  its  force  by  clapping  his  hands  together  with  great 
rapidity  and  regularity.  Then  came  a  lull  in  the  fearful  storm 
of  iron  hail  and  his  hands  were  still  again.  The  storm  beat  fast 
and  furious  as  the  thought  of  some  loved  one  nerved  the  arm  of 
each  contending  trooper.  Then  the  movement  of  his  hands 
slackened  and  gradually  grew  more  feeble.  A  few  scattering 
shakes,  like  the  rain  upon  a  window  pane,  and  then  the  move- 
ment ceased  as  the  last  of  Custer's  band  of  heroes  went  down 
with  the  setting  sun. 

"  It  was  dusk  as  the  successful  combatants  returned  to  camp 
littered  with  their  dead  and  wounded.  '  We  have  killed  them 
all,'  they  said,  '  put  up  your  lodges  where  they  are.'  They  had 
just  began  to  fix  their  lodges  that  evening,  when  a  report  came 
that  troops  were  coming  from  toward  the  mouth  of  the  creek. 
When  this  report  came,  after  dark,  the  lodges  were  all  taken 
down  and  they  started  up  the  creek.  '  I  told  my  men,'  says  Kill 
Eagle,  '  to  keep  together,  and  we  would  trj'  and  get  away.  Some 
one  told  on  me,  and  they  said  let  us  kill  him  and  his  band,  we 
have  lost  many  young  men  to-day,  and  our  hearts  are  bad.  We 
travelled  all  night  and  next  daj7 ;  after  crossing  the  Greasy 
Grass  we  encamped  near  the  foot  of  the  White  Mountains.  That 
night,  when  I  was  asleep,  I  heard  a  man  calling.  I  woke  up  my 
people  and  this  man  proved  to  be  a  Cheyenne  Indian,  belong- 
ing to  a  party  that  had  been  off  on  the  war-path  in  the  White 
Mountains.' 


LITTLE    BUCK-ELK.  55 

"  It  was  not  to  the  Indians  a  bloodless  victory.  Fourteen  had 
fallen  in  front  of  Reno,  thirty-nine  went  down  with  Custer,  and 
fourteen  were  dead  in  camp.  Horses  and  travoises  were  laden 
with  their  wounded  on  every  hand  and  in  countless  numbers. 
One  band  alone  of  Ogallallas  had  twenty-seven  wounded  on 
travoises,  and  thirty -eight  thrown  across  horses.  There  were  no 
white  men  in  the  fight  or  on  the  field.  The  bugle  calls  were 
sounded  by  an  Indian.  No  prisoners  were  taken.  The  troops 
were  all  killed  on  the  east  side  ;  none  crossed  the  river." 

Little  Buck-Elk,  an  Uncapapa  chief  who  came  into 
Fort  Peck  in  September,  said  that  he  was  present  at 
the  fight  with  Custer,  and  that  eleven  different  tribes 
were  engaged  in  it.  "  The  Indians  were  as  thick  as 
bees  at  the  fight,  and  there  were  so  many  of  them 
that  they  could  not  all  take  part  in  it.  The  soldiers 
were  all  brave  men  and  fought  well ;  some  of  them, 
when  they  found  themselves  surrounded  and  over- 
powered, broke  through  the  lines  and  tried  to  make 
their  escape,  but  were  pursued  and  killed  miles  from 
the  battle  ground.  The  Indians  captured  six  battle 
flags.  No  soldiers  were  taken  alive,  but  after  the 
fight  the  women  went  among  the  dead  bodies  and 
robbed  and  mutilated  them.  There  were  plenty  of 
watches  and  money  taken,  which  the  young  warriors 
are  wearing  in  their  shirts  and  belts." 


CHAPTER    VIII. 

AN   ATTACK   IN   THE    HEAR. 

Major  Reno's  conduct  on  the  first  day  of  the  fight- 
ing on  the  Little  Big  Horn,  has  been  severly  criticised 
by  several  of  Gren.  Custer's  personal  friends ;  and  one 
of  them,  Gren  T.  L.  Rosser,  in  a  letter  addressed  to 
Reno  and  published  in  the  Army  and  Na/vy  Journal, 
blames  him  for  taking  to  the  timber  when  his  "  loss 
was  little  or  nothing."  "  You  had,"  he  says,  "  an  open 
field  for  cavalry  operations,  and  I  believe  that  if  you 
had  remained  in  the  saddle  and  charged  boldly  into 
the  village,  the  shock  upon  the  Indians  would  have 
been  so  great  that  they  would  have  been  compelled  to 
withdraw  their  attacking  force  from  Custer,  who,  when 
relieved,  could  have  pushed  his  command  through  to 
open  ground,  where  he  could  have  manoeuvred  his 
command,  and  thus  greatly  have  increased  his  chances 
of  success."  It  would  seem  as  if  this  and  similar  criti- 
cisms were  sufficiently  answered  by  Reno's  report ;  and 
by  his  reply  to  Rosser,  which  is  given  in  part  below : — 

"  After  reading  all  your  letter  I  could  no  longer  look  upon  it 
as  a  tribute  of  a  generous  enemy,  since  through  me  you  had  at- 
tacked as  brave  officers  as  ever  served  a  government,  and  with 
the  same  recklessness  and  ignorance  of  circumstances  as  Custer 
is  charged  with  in  his  attacks  upon  the  hostile  Indians.  Both 
charges — the  one  made  against  him  and  the  one  made  by  you 
against  us — are  equally  untrue,  You  say  : — '  I  feel  Custer  would 
have  succeeded  had  Reno,  with  all  the  reserve  of  seven  companies, 
passed  through  and  joined   Custer  after  the  first  repulse ; '  and 


RENO    AGAIN    ON    THE    DEFENSIVE.  57 

after  confessing  that  you  are  firing  at  long  range  say  further : 
' 1  think  it  quite  certain  that  Custer  had  agreed  with  Reno  upon  a 
place  of  junction  in  case  of  the  repulse  of  either  or  both  detach- 
ments ;  and,  instead  of  an  effort  being  made  by  Reno  for  such  a 
junction,  as  soon  as  he  encountered  heavy  resistance  he  took 
refuge  in  the  hills  and  abandoned  Custer  and  his  gallant  com- 
rades to  their  fate. 

"  As  I  shall  show,  both  the  premises  are  false,  and  consequently 
all  the  conclusions  of  your  letter  fall  to  the  ground.  *  *  The 
only  official  orders  I  had  from  Custer  were  about  five  miles  from 
the  village,  when  Cooke  gave  me  his  orders  in  these  words  :  'Custer 
says  to  move  at  as  rapid  a  gait  as  you  think  prudent,  and  to 
charge  afterwards,  and  you  will  be  supported  b}r  the  whole  outfit.' 

"  No  mention  of  any  plan,  no  thought  of  junction,  onby  the 
usual  orders  to  the  advance  guard  to  attack  by  the  charge.  When 
the  enemy  was  reached  I  moved  to  the  front  at  a  fast  trot,  and  at 
the  river  halted  ten  minutes  or  less  to  gather  the  battalion.  I 
sent  word  to  Custer  that  I  had  the  enemy  in  my  front  very  strong, 
and  then  charged,  driving  the  reds  before  me  about  three  miles 
or  less,  to  within  a  short  distance  of  their  village,  supposing  my 
command,  consisting  of  120  officers  and  men  and  about  25  scouts 
and  guards,  followed  by  the  columns  under  Custer.  The  stream 
was  very  crooked,  like  a  letter  S  in  its  wanderings,  and  on  the 
side  on  which  the  village  was  it  opened  out  into  a  broad  bottom, 
perhaps  half  or  three-quarters  of  a  mile  wide.  The  stream  was 
fringed,  as  usual,  with  the  trees  of  the  plains — a  growth  of  large 
cottonwood,  and  on  the  opposite  side  was  a  range  of  high  bluffs 
which  had  been  cut  into  very  deep  ravines. 

"  As  I  neared  the  village  the  Indians  came  out  in  great  numbers, 
and  I  was  soon  convinced  I  had  at  least  ten  to  one  against  me, 
and  was  forced  on  the  defensive.  This  I  accomplished  by  taking 
possession  of  a  point  of  woods  where  I  found  shelter  for  my  horses. 
I  fought  there  dismounted,  and  made  my  way  to  within  200  yards 
of  the  village,  and  firmly  believe  that  if,  at  that  moment,  the 
seven  companies  had  been  together  the  Indians  could  have  been 
driven  from  their  village.  As  we  approached  near  their  village 
they  came  out  in  overwhelming  numbers,  and  soon  the  small  com- 
mand would  have  been  surrounded  on  all  sides,  to  prevent  which 
I  mounted  and  charged  through  them  to  a  position  I  could  hold 
with  the  few  men  I  had. 

"  You  see  by  this  I  was  the  advance  and  the  first  to  be  engaged 


58  RENO    AGAIN    ON    THE    DEFENSIVE. 

and  draw  fire,  and  was  consequently  the  command  to  be  support- 
ed, and  not  the  one  from  which  support  could  be  expected.     All 
I  know  of  Cluster  from  the  time  he  ordered  me  to  attack  till  I  saw 
him  buried,  is  that  he  did  not  follow  my  trail,  but  kept  on  his  side 
of  the  river  and  along  the  crest  of  the  bluffs  on  the  opposite  side 
from  the  village  and  from  my  command  ;  that  he  heard  and  saw 
my  action  I  believe,  although  I  could  not  see  him  ;  and  it  is  just 
here  that  the  Indians  deceived  us.     All  this  time  I  was  driving 
them  with  ease,  and  his  trail  shows  he  moved  rapidly  down  the 
river  for  three  miles  to  the  ford,  at  which  he  attempted  to  cross 
into  their  village,  and  with  the  conviction  that  he  would  strike  a 
a  retreating  enemy.     Trumpeter  Martin,  of  Co.  H,  who  the  last 
time  of  any  living  person  heard  and  saw  Gen.  Custer,  and  who 
brought  the  last  order  his  adjutant  ever  penciled,  says  he  left 
the  General  at  the  summit  of  the  highest  bluff  on  that-  side,  and 
which  overlooked  the  village  and  my  first  battle-field,  and  as  he 
turned,  Gen.  Custer  raised  his  hat  and  gave  a  yell,  saying  they 
were  asleep  in  their  tepees  and  surprised,  and  to  charge.  *    *    * 
"  The  Indians  made  him  over  confident  by  appearing  to  be 
stampeded,  and,  undoubtedl}7,  when  he  arrived  at  the  ford,  expect- 
ing to  go  with  ease  through  their  village,  he  rode  into  an  ambus- 
cade of  at  least  2,000  reds.     My  getting  the  command  of  the 
seven  oompanies  was  not  the  result  of  any  order  or  prearranged 
plan.     Benteen  and  McDougal  arrived  separately,  and  saw  the 
command  on  the  bluffs  and  came  to  it.     They  did  not  go  into  the 
bottom  at  all  after  the  junction.     They  attempted  to  go  clown  the 
trail  of  Gen.  Custer,  but  the  advance  company  soon  sent  back 
word  they  were  being  surrounded.     Crowds  of  reds  were  seeu  on 
all  sides  of  us,  and  Custer's  fate  had  evidently  been  determined. 
I  knew  the  position  I  had  first  taken  on  the  bluff  was  near  and  a 
strong  one.     I  at  once  moved  there,  dismounted,  and  herded  the 
pack  train,  and  had  but  just  time  to  do  so  when  the}'  came  upon 
me  by  thousands.     Had  we  been  twenty  minutes  later  effecting 
the  junction  not  a  man  of  that  regiment  would  be  living  to-day  to 
tell  the  tale." 

Another  writer  attacks  both  Reno  and  Benteen, 
accusing  one  of  incapacity  and  utter  demoralization 
during  the  attack  of  the  Indians,  and  the  other  of 
wilful  disobedience.  "  That  he  (Benteen)  should  have, 
as  his  own  testimony  confesses,  deliberately  disobeyed 


ABOUT    BENTEEN'S    INFAMOUS    DESIRE.  59 

the  peremptory  order  of  Custer  to  '  Come  on,'  argues 
either  a  desire  to  sacrifice  Custer,  or  an  ignorance  of 
which  his  past  career  renders  him  incapable.  Custer 
told  him  to  '  Come  on,'  and  he  reported  to  Reno."  In 
order,  as  he  says,  to  "vindicate  the  reputation  of  a 
noble  man  from  unjust  aspersions,"  this  writer  further 
declares,  that  "  had  Reno  fought  as  Custer  fought,  and 
had  Benteen  obeyed  Custer's  orders,  the  battle  of  the 
Little  Big  Horn  might  have  proved  Custer's  last  and 
greatest  Indian  victory." 

Of  the  writer  last  quoted,  the  Army  and  Navy 
Journal  says : — "  With  reckless  pen  he  thrusts  right 
and  left,  careless  of  reputations,  regardless  of  facts, 
darkening  the  lives  of  other  men,  in  the  vain  hope 
that  one  name  may  shine  more  brightly  on  the  page 
of  history  *  *  *  Nothing  but  the  most  absolute 
demonstration,  accompanied  by  the  proof,  would  jus- 
tify such  statements  as  he  has  made,  and  this  he  has 
not  given.  The  reports  of  anonymous  newspaper  cor- 
respondents, and  an  ex  parte  statement  of  the  conclu- 
sions drawn  from  letters,  of  which  we  have  not  so 
much  as  the  names  of  the  writers,  is  not  proof  on  which 
to  base  criticisms  affecting  character  and  reputation." 

Capt.  Benteen,  Brevet  Colonel  U.  S.  A.,  who  has 
been  a  captain  in  the  7th  Cavalry  since  its  organiza- 
tion in  1866,  at  which  date  Gen.  Custer  was  appointed 
its  Lieut.  Colonel,  in  a  letter  to  the  Army  and  Navy 
Journal  uses  the  following  language  :— 

"  Col.  Reno  and  I  thought  during  the  seige  of  June 
25th  and  26th,  at  the  Little  Big  Horn,  that  he,  Reno, 
was  the  abandoned  party,  and  spoke  of  it  as  another 
*  Major  Elliot  *  affair' ;  thinking  that  General  Custer 

*  Major  Joel  H.  Elliot  of  the  7th  Cavalry,  and  19  of  his  command,  were 
missing  after  the  Battle  of  the  Washita  in  Nov.,  1868.  Their  dead  bodies 
were  found  some  weeks  later. 


60  BENTEEN    PLEADS    NOT    GUILTY,    AND    RESTS. 

had  retreated  to  the  mouth  of  the  river,  where  the 
steamboat  was  supposed  to  be,  and  that  Reno's  com- 
mand was  left  to  its  fate.  I  am  accused  of  disobey- 
ing Custer's  orders.  Nothing  is  further  from  the  truth 
in  point  of  fact ;  and  I  do  not  think  the  matter  of  suffi- 
cient importance  to  attempt  to  vindicate  myself,  but 
can  rest  contentedly  under  the  ban  when  I  have  the 
consoling  belief  that  the  contrary  is  so  well  known  by 
all  my  military  superiors  and  comrades." 

Lieut.  Gen.  Sheridan,  in  his  report  for  1876,  ex- 
presses his  views  of  the  Custer  disaster  as  follows : — 

"  As  much  has  been  said  in  regard  to  the  misfortune  that  oc- 
curred to  General  Custer  and  the  portion  of  his  regiment  under 
his  immediate  command  in  this  action,  I  wish  to  express  the  con- 
viction I  have  arrived  at  concerning  it.  From  all  the  information 
that  has  reached  me,  I  am  led  to  believe  that  the  Indians  were 
not  aware  of  the  proximity  of  Custer  until  he  had  arrived  within 
about  eight  or  nine  miles  of  their  village,  and  that  then  their  scouts 
who  carried  the  intelligence  back  to  the  valley  were  so  closely 
followed  up  by  Custer,  that  he  arrived  on  the  summit  of  the  divide 
overlooking  the  upper  portion  of  the  village,  almost  as  soon  as 
the  scouts  reached  it.  As  soon  as  the  news  was  given,  the  Indians 
began  to  strike  their  lodges  and  get  their  women  and  children  out 
of  the  way — a  movement  they  always  make  under  such  circum- 
stances. Custer,  seeing  this,  believed  the  village  would  escape 
him  if  he  awaited  the  arrival  of  the  four  companies  of  his  regi- 
ment— still  some  miles  in  his  rear.  Only  about  75  or  100  lodges 
or  tepees  could  be  seen  from  the  summit  or  divide,  and  this,  prob- 
ably, deceived  him  as  to  the  extent  of  the  village.  He  therefore 
directed  Major  Reno,  with  three  companies,  to  cross  the  river  and 
charge  J,he  village,  while  he,  with  the  remaining  five  companies, 
would  gallop  down  the  east  bank  of  the  river  behind  the  bluff  and 
cut  off  the  retreat  of  the  Indians.  Reno  crossed  and  attacked 
gallantly  with  his  three  companies — about  110  men — but  the 
warriors,  leaving  the  women  to  strike  the  lodges,  fell  on  Reno's 
handful  of  men  and  drove  them  back  to  and  over  the  river  with 
severe  loss. 

"  About  this  time  Custer  reached  a  point  about  three  and  a  half 


GEN.    SHERIDAN    ON    THE    CUSTER    DISASTER.  61 

or  four  miles  down  the  river,  but  instead  of  finding  a  village  of 
75  or  100  lodges,  he  found  one  of  perhaps  from  1500  to  2000, 
and  swarming  with  warriors,  who  brought  him  to  a  halt.  This,  I 
think,  was  the  first  intimation  the  Indians  had  of  Custer's  approach 
to  cut  them  off,  for  they  at  once  left  Reno  and  concentrated  to 
meet  the  new  danger.  The  point  where  Custer  reached  the  river, 
on  the  opposite  side  of  which  was  the  village,  was  broken  into 
choppy  ravines,  and  the  Indians,  crossing  from  Reno,  got  between 
the  two  commands,  and  as  Custer  could  not  return,  he  fell  back 
over  the  broken  ground  with  his  tired  men  and  tired  horses  (they 
had  ridden  about  70  miles  with  but  few  halts)  and  became,  I  am 
afraid,  an  easy  prey  to  the  enemy.  Their  wild,  savage  yells, 
overwhelming  numbers,  and  frightening  war  paraphernalia,  made 
it  as  much  as  each  trooper  could  do  to  take  care  of  his  horse,  thus 
endangering  his  own  safety  and  efficiency.  If  Custer  could  have 
reached  any  position  susceptible  of  defence,  he  could  have  defend- 
ed himself;  but  none  offered  itself  in  the  choppy  and  broken 
ravines  over  which  he  had  to  pass,  and  he  and  his  command  were 
lost  without  leaving  any  one  to  tell  the  tale. 

"  As  soon  as  Custer  and  his  gallant  officers  and  men  were  ex- 
terminated and  the  scenes  of  mutilation  by  the  squaws  commenced, 
the  warriors  returned  to  renew  the  attack  upon  Reno  ;  but  he  had 
been  joined  by  Captain  Benteen  and  the  four  companies  of  the 
regiment  that  were  behind  when  the  original  attack  took  place, 
and  the  best  use  had  been  made  of  the  respite  given  by  the  attack 
on  Custer,  to  entrench  their  position. 

"  Had  the  7th  Cavalry  been  kept  together,  it  is  my  belief  it 
would  have  been  able  to  handle  the  Indians  on  the  Little  Big 
Horn,  and  under  any  circumstances  it  could  have  at  least  defend- 
ed itself;  but  separated  as  it  was  into  three  distinct  detachments, 
the  Indians  had  largely  the  advantage  in  addition  to  their  over- 
whelming numbers.  If  Custer  had  not  come  upon  the  village  so 
suddenly,  the  warriors  would  have  gone  to  meet  him,  in  order  to 
give  time  to  the  women  and  children  to  get  out  of  the  way,  as  they 
did  with  Crook  only  a  few  days  before,  and  there  would  have 
been,  as  with  Crook,  what  might  be  designated  a  rearguard  fight' 
— a  fight  to  get  their  valuables  out  of  the  way,  or  in  other«  words, 
to  cover  the  escape  of  their  women,  children  and  lodges." 


CHAPTER    IX. 

THE   MIDSUMMER    CAMPAIGN. 

After  regaining  his  position  at  the  mouth  of  the 
Big  Horn  River,  Gen.  Terry  called  for  reinforcements 
and  additional  troops  were  at  once  put  in  motion  for 
his  camp ;  but  as  they  had  to  be  collected  from  all  the 
various  stations  on  the  frontier — some  of  them  very 
remote  from  railroads  —  considerable  time  elapsed 
before  their  arrival. 

During  this  period,  the  bands  which  had  broken 
off  from  the  main  body  of  hostiles,  and  the  young 
men  at  the  agencies,  continued  their  old  and  well- 
known  methods  of  warfare,  stealing  horses  on  the 
frontier  and  killing  small  parties  of  citizens;  while 
the  constant  communication  by  the  hostiles  with  the 
Indians  at  the  agencies  made  it  evident  that  supplies 
of  food  and  ammunition  were  being  received.  To 
prevent  this,  Gen.  Sheridan  deemed  it  necessary  that 
the  military  should  control  the  agencies,  and  at  his 
request,  the  Secretary  of  the  Interior,  July  22d,  au- 
thorized the  military  to  assume  control  of  all  the 
agencies  in  the  Sioux  country. 

'  About  the  same  date  Medicine  Cloud,  a  chief,  who 
had  been  sent  from  Fort  Peck,  in  May,  with  a  mes- 
sage to  Sitting  Bull  inviting  him  to  visit  Fort  Peck 
with  a  view  to  reconciliation,  returned  to  the  agency. 
To  the  invitation,  Sitting  Bull  had  replied : — 


ADVENTURES    OF    A    SCOUTING    PARTY.  63 

"  Tell  him  I  am  coming  before  long  to  his  post  to 
trade.  Tell  him  I  did  not  commence.  I  am  getting 
old,  and  I  did  not  want  to  fight,  bnt  the  whites  rush 
on  me,  and  I  am  compelled  to  defend  myself.  But 
for  the  soldiers  stationed  on  the  Rosebud,  I  with  my 
people  would  have  been  there  before  that.  If  I  was 
assured  of  the  protection  of  the  Great  Father,  I 
would  go  to  Fort  Peck  for  the  purpose  of  making 
peace.  I  and  others  want  the  Black  Hills  abandoned, 
and  we  will  make  peace." 

While  awaiting  reinforcements,  Generals  Terry  and 
Crook  were  separated  by  about  100  miles  of  rough 
territory,  the  hostile  Indians  were  between  them,  and 
for  reliable  communication  with  each  other  it  was 
necessary  to  send  around  by  the  rear  nearly  2000 
miles.  The  carrying  of  dispatches  direct  was  a  work 
of  the  most  ardurous  and  perilous  nature,  and  in 
doing  it,  and  in  reconnoitering,  brave  and  gallant 
deeds  were  performed. 

On  the  6th  of  July,  Gen.  Crook  sent  out  Lieut.  Sibley 
of  the  2nd  Cavalry  with  25  mounted  troops  and  two 
guides,  Gerard  and  Babtiste,  to  reconnoiter  the  coun- 
try to  the  front,  and  learn  if  possible  the  movements 
of  the  enemy  and  the  whereabouts  of  Terry's  division. 
The  party  marched  all  night,  and  in  the  morning 
were  near  where  the  Little  Big  Horn  debouches  from 
the  mountains.  Here,  from  an  eminence,  they  espied 
a  large  body  of  Indians  marching  eastward  as  though 
meditating  an  attack  on  the  camp  at  Goose  Creek. 
Concealing  themselves  as  well  as  they  could,  they 
watched  the  movements  of  the  enemy ;  but  a  great 
shout  soon  warned  them  that  their  trail  had  been  dis- 
covered, and  hundreds  of  savages  immediately  set  out 
to  follow  it,  uttering  terrific  cries. 


64  RUNNING    THE    GAUNTLET. 

The  fugitives  galloped  toward  the  mountains,  and 
seemed  to  outrun  their  pursuers ;  but  about  noon, 
while  going  through  a  ravine,  a  sudden  volley  was 
fired  upon  them  from  the  surrounding  slopes,  and 
many  Indians  charged  down  upon  them.  They 
wheeled,  and  took  refuge  in  the  woods,  but  three 
horses  were  already  wounded.  Taking  the  ammuni- 
tion from  the  saddles,  and  leaving  their  horses  tied  to 
the  trees  to  divert  the  enemy,  they  now  moved  stealth- 
ily and  unseen  from  the  ground,  and  escaped  behind 
adjacent  rocks ;  then  they  climbed  over  steep  and 
slippery  places  till  exhausted,  and  while  halting  for  a 
rest  knew  by  the  repeated  firing  that  their  horses 
were  undergoing  an  attack. 

All  that  night  they  toiled  among  the  mountains, 
and  on  the  morning  of  the  9th  reached  Tongue  River. 
As  they  had  left  their  rations  behind,  they  suffered 
much  from  hunger,  and  two  of  the  men  were  so  weak 
they  could  not  ford  the  deep  stream,  and  remained 
behind.  When  near  the  camp  one  of  the  guides  went 
ahead  for  assistance,  and  a  company  of  cavalry  brought 
in  the  exhausted  men. 

Having  urgent  occasion  to  communicate  with  Gen. 
Grook,  Gen.  Terry,  by  the  promise  of  a  large  reward, 
induced  a  professional  scout  to  make  an  attempt  to 
reach  him,  but  he  soon  returned  unsuccessful.  No 
other  scout  would  undertake  the  task,  and  as  a  last 
resort  a  call  for  volunteers  was  made,  in  response  to 
which,  12  soldiers  promptly  offered  their  services  for 
the  hazardous  duty  without  hope  of  pecuniary  reward. 
Three  of  these,  Privates  Wm.  Evans,  Benjamin  F. 
Stewart,  and  Joseph  Bell,  of  the  17th  Infantry,  were 
selected.  They  set  out  on  the  9th  of  July,  reached 
Crook's  camp  on  the  12th  ;  and  returned  on  the  25th 


THE    INDIAN    ALLIES.  65 

accompanied  by  three  Crow  Indians  who  had  arrived 
from  Terry's  camp  on  the  19th.  The  three  soldiers 
were  thanked  by  their  commander,  in  a  General  Order, 
"  for  a  deed  reflecting  so  much  credit  on  the  Service."" 

Partial  reinforcements  having  reached  Gen.  Crookr 
on  the  16th  of  July  he  broke  camp  and  moved  grad- 
ually along  the  hills  toward  Tongue  River.  On  the 
3d  of  August,  just  before  sunset,  an  additional  regi- 
ment, the  5th  Cavalry,  ten  companies,  under  Col.  W. 
Merritt, "  marched  into  camp  with  their  supply  wagons 
close  on  their  heels,  presenting  a  fine  appearance, 
despite  the  fatigue  and  dust  of  the  march." 

Gen.  Crook's  fighting  force  now  numbered  about 
2000  men.  Among  them  were  over  200  Shoshone 
and  Ute  Indians,  sworn  enemies  to  the  Sioux,  led 
by  Washakie,  a  well  known  Shoshone  chief.  These 
Indians  were  thus  spoken  of  by  a  correspondent  who 
saw  them  at  Fort  Bridger,  drawn  up  in  line  before 
starting  to  join  Gen.  Crook  : — 

"  In  advance  of  the  partj-  was  a  swarthy  temporary  chief,  his  face 
covered  with  vertical  white  streaks.  In  his  right  hand,  hanging 
to  the  end  of  a  window-blind  rod,  were  the  two  fingers  of  a  dead 
Sioux.  Another  rod  had  a  white  flag  nailed  to  it — a  precaution 
necessary  to  preserve  them  from  being  fired  upon  in  proceeding 
to  the  s^at  of  war.  The  faces  of  the  rest  had  on  a  plentiful  sup- 
ply of  war  paint.  Once  in  line,  they  struck  up  a  peculiar  grunting 
sound  on  a  scale  of  about  five  notes.  One  of  the  braves,  afflicted 
with  a  malady  peculiar  to  the  Caucasian  race,  began  to  brag  what 
he'd  do  when  he  got  to  the  seat  of  war,  winding  up  in  broken 
English,  '  Me  little  mad  now ;  bime  by  me  heap  mad.'  Old 
Washakie,  their  chief,  wants  to  die  in  battle,  and  not  in  bed." 

On  the  5th  of  Aug.,  Gen.  Crook  cut  loose  from  his 
wagon  trains  and  started  in  pursuit  of  the  Indians 
who,  it  was  ascertained,  had  left  the  foot  of  the  Big 
Horn  Mountains,  July  25th,  and  moved  eastward. 
His   route   was    north-easterly,   across  the   Panther 


6Q  FOLLOWING    THE    TRAIL. 

Mountains  to  Rosebud  River.  On  the  8th  of  Aug. 
the  troops  were  ten  miles  north  of  the  battle-ground 
of  June  17th,  and  near  the  site  of  a  deserted  village. 
The  country  west  of  the  Rosebud  had  been  burned 
over,  and  a  trail  recently  traveled  by  large  numbers 
of  Indians  led  down  the  valley.  Upon  this  trail  the 
march  was  continued. 

Meantime,  Gen.  Terry  had  been  reinforced  by  six 
companies  of  the  5th  Infantry  under  Col.  Nelson  A. 
Miles,  six  companies  of  the  2 2d  Infantry  under  Lt. 
Col.  Otis,  and. other  detachments,  until  his  command 
numbered  about  the  same  as  Gen.  Crook's.  On  the 
25th  of  July,  he  started  for  the  mouth  of  the  Rosebud 
and  there  established  a  base  of  operations.  On  the 
8th  of  Aug.,  with  his  troops  and  a  train  of  225  wagons 
with  supplies  for  30  days,  he  moved  down  the  west 
bank  of  the  Rosebud ;  and  on  thelOth,  when  35  miles 
from  its  mouth,  made  a  junction  with  Crook's  com- 
mand. Col.  Miles  with  the  5th  Infantry  was  sent 
back  to  the  mouth  of  the  Rosebud  to  patrol  the 
Yellowstone,  aided  by  steamboats,  and  intercept  the 
Indians  should  they  attempt  to  cross  the  river. 

The  trail  which  Gen.  Crook  had  been  following 
now  turned  from  the  Rosebud  eastward,  and  its  pur- 
suit was  promptly  and  steadily  continued  by  the 
united  forces.  It  led  the  troops  across  to  Powder 
River  and  down  its  valley.  On  the  17th  of  August 
they  were  encamped  near  the  mouth  of  Powder  River, 
on  both  sides  of  the  stream ;  and  here  the  two  com- 
mands separated  on  the  24th  of  August. 

As  the  principal  Indian  trail  had  turned  eastward 
toward  the  Little  Missouri,  Gen.  Crook's  column  took 
up  the  pursuit  in  that  direction.  On  the  5th  of  Sept, 
when  on  the  headwaters  of  Heart  River,  a  small  party 


THE    BATTLE    OF    SLIM    BUTTES.  67 

of  Indians  were  discovered  going  eastward, — the  first 
hostile  Indians  seen  since  leaving  Tongue  River. 

The  trail  had  now  scattered  so  that  it  could  be 
followed  no  longer,  and  Crook  decided  to  push  for 
the  Black  Hills  settlements.  His  troops  were  nearly 
out  of  food,  and  suffering  from  want  of  clothing,  and 
bad  weather.  Cold  rains  prevailed,  and  camp  life 
with  no  tents,  few  blankets,  and  half  rations,  bore  hard 
on  the  soldiers.  Meat  was  scarce  and  some  of  the 
horses  were  killed  to  supply  food. 

On  the  7th  of  Sept.,  Capt.  Anson  Mills  with  150  men 
and  a  pack-train,  was  sent  ahead  with  directions  to 
obtain  food  at  the  Black  Hills  settlements  about  100 
miles  distant,  and  to  return  to  the  hungry  column  as 
soon  as  possible.     Gerard,  the  scout,  accompanied  the 
detachment,  and  on  the  evening  of  the  8th,  he  dis- 
covered a  hostile  village  of  40  lodges  and  several 
hundred  ponies.     Capt.  Mills  retreated  a  few  miles 
hid  his  men  in  a  ravine,  and  at  daybreak  next  morn 
ing  dashed  into  the  village.     The  Indians  were  com 
pletely  surprised  and  fled  to  the  surrounding  hills 
from  which  they  exchanged  shots  with  their  assailants 
The  lodges  were  secured,  with  their  contents  consist 
ing  of  large  quantities  of  dried  meat  and  other  food 
robes,  and  flags  and  clothing  taken  from  Custer  and 
his  men.     140  ponies  were  also  among  the  spoils. 

A  small  party  of  the  Indians  had  taken  possession 
of  a  narrow  ravine  or  canyon  near  the  village,  and  in 
trying  to  dislodge  them  several  soldiers  were  wound- 
ed. By  direction  of  Gen.  Crook,  who  had  reached  the 
field  with  reinforcements,  the  Indians  in  the  ravine 
were  informed  that  if  they  would  surrender  they 
would  not  be  harmed.  An  old  squaw  was  the  first 
to  take  advantage  of  the  offer,  and  was  followed  by 


68  THE    MARCH    TO    THE    BLACK    HILLS. 

1 5  women  and  children,  and,  lastly,  by  three  warriors, 
one  of  whom,  the  chief  American  Horse,  had  been 
mortally  wounded. 

Later  in  the  day,  before  the  troops  had  left  the 
village,  the  Indians  appeared  in  force  and  began  a 
vigorous  attack.  Infantry  were  at  once  .thrown  out 
along  the  slope  of  the  bluffs  and,  "  about  sundown 
it  was  a  very  inspiring  sight  to  see  this  branch  of  the 
command  with  their  long  Springfield  breech-loaders 
drive  the  enemy  for  a  mile  and  a  half  to  the  west, 
and  behind  the  castellated  rocks."  The  captives  in 
camp  said  the  attacking  Indians  were  reinforcements 
from  the  camp  of  Crazy  Horse  further  west.  This 
engagement  is  known  as  the  battle  of  Slim  Buttes. 
Our  losses  during  the  day  were  three  killed,  and  11 
wounded  including  Lieut.  Von  Leuttroitz. 

During  the  march  of  Sept.  10th  a  number  of  Indians 
came  down  on  the  rear,  but  were  repulsed  with  a  loss 
of  several  killed  and  wounded.  Three  soldiers  were 
wounded  in  this  skirmish. 

The  remainder  of  this  long  and  difficult  march  was 
successfully  accomplished.  On  the  16th,  Gen.  Crook 
reached  Deadwood,  a  Black  Hills  settlement,  and  was 
cordially  received  by  the  inhabitants.  In  a  speech 
made  by  the  General  on  this  occasion,  he  said : — 

"  Citizens  :  while  you  welcome  me  and  my  personal  staff  as  the 
representatives  of  the  soldiers  who  are  here  encamped  upon  the 
Whitewood,  let  me  ask  you,  when  the  rank  and  file  pass  through 
here,  to  show  that  jou  appreciate  their  admirable  fortitude  in 
bearing  the  sufferings  of  a  terrible  march  almost  without  a 
murmur,  and  to  show  them  that  the}'  are  not  fighting  for  $13  per 
month,  but  for  the  cause — the  proper  development  of  our  gold 
and  other  mineral  resources,  and  of  humanity.  This  exhibition 
of  your  gratitude  need  not  be  expensive.  Let  the  private  soldier 
feel  that  he  is  remembered  by  our  people  as  the  real  defender  of 
his  country." 


LONG  DOG'S  RECONNOITERING  PARTY.        69 

After  parting  with  Gen.  Crook,  Aug.  24th,  Gen. 
Terry  crossed  the  Yellowstone  and  marched  down  its 
left  bank,  his  object  being  to  intercept  the  Indians 
Crook  was  following  if  they  attempted  to  cross  the 
river.  On  the  27th  he  left  the  river,  and  moved  north- 
erly into  the  buffalo  range  where  hunting  parties 
were  detailed  who  secured  considerable  game.  The 
country  was  parched,  the  small  streams  dry,  and 
water  scarce.  A  scouting  party  made  a  detour  to  the 
north  and  west,  but  no  Indians  could  be  found.  On 
the  5th  of  Sept.  the  whole  command  was  at  the  mouth 
of  Glendive  Creek,  where  a  military  post  had  been 
established. 

Gen.  Terry  now  decided  to  close  the  campaign  and 
distribute  his  troops  to  their  winter  quarters.  The 
Montana  column  under  Col.  Gibbon  started  on  the 
return  march  to  Fort  Ellis,  400  miles  distant ;  Lieut. 
Col.  Otis  of  the  2 2d  Infantry,  with  his  command,  re- 
mained at  Glendive  Creek,  to  build  a  stockade  and 
co-operate  with  Col.  Miles,  who  was  establishing  a 
winter  post  at  the  mouth  of  Tongue  River ;  and  Gen. 
Terry  wTith  the  balance  of  the  troops  started  for 
Fort  Buford  at  the  mouth  of  the  Yellowstone. 

Hearing  that  Sitting  Bull  with  a  large  band  had 
recently  crossed  to  the  north  side  of  the  Missouri 
River  near  Fort  Peck,  Terry  sent  Reno  with  troops 
— then  en  route  to  Fort  Buford — in  pursuit.  Reno 
marched  to  Fort  Peck,  and  thence  to  Fort  Buford, 
but  encountered  no  Indians.  A  reconnoitering  party 
under  Long  Dog  had  been  near  Fort  Peck,  and  that 
chief  passed  one  night  at  the  agency.  They  did  not 
want  rations  or  annuities,  but  desired  plenty  of  am- 
munition, for  which  they  were  ready  to  exchange  7th 
Cavalry  horses,  arms  and  equipments. 
32 


CHAPTER    X. 

AUTUMN   ON   THE  YELLOWSTONE. 

On  the  10th  of  October,  as  a  train  escorted  by  two 
companies  of  the  6th  Infantry  was  carrying  supplies 
from  Grlendive  Creek  to  the  cantonment  at  the  mouth 
tff  Tongue  River,  it  was  attacked  by  Indians,  and  was 
obliged  to  return  to  Grlendive  with  a  loss  of  sixty 
mules. 

Lieut.  Col.  Otis  was  in  command  at  Grlendive,  and 
on  the  14th  he  again  started  out  the  train  and  per- 
sonally accompanied  it.  The  train  consisted  of  86 
wagons,  41  of  which  were  driven  by  soldiers,  who  had 
taken  the  places  of  as  many  citizen  teamsters  too  de- 
moralized by  the  recent  attack  to  continue  in  the 
service.  The  military  escort  numbered  with  officers 
196  men.  The  following  interesting  narrative  of 
subsequent  events  is  from  the  report  of  Col.  Otis : — 

"  We  proceeded  on  the  first  day  12  miles,  and  encamped  on  the 
broad  bottom  of  the  Yellowstone  River,  without  discovering  a 
sign  of  the  presence  of  Indians.  During  the  night  a  small  thiev- 
ing party  was  fired  upon  by  the  pickets,  but  the  party  escaped, 
leaving  behind  a  single  pony,  with  its  trappings,  which  was  killed. 
At  dawn  of  day,  upon  the  15th,  the  train  pulled  out  in  two  strings, 
and  proceeded  quietly  to  Spring  Creek,  distant  from  camp  about 
three  miles,  when  I  directed  two  mounted  men  to  station  them- 
selves upon  a  hill  beyond  the  creek,  and  watch  the  surrounding 
country  until  the  train  should  pass  through  the  defile.  The  men 
advanced  at  swift  pace  in  proper  direction,  and  when  within  50 
yards  of  the  designated  spot,  they  received  a  volley  from  a  number 


GALLANT    DEFENCE    OF    A    WAGON    TRAIN.  71 

of  concealed  Indians,  when  suddenly  men  and  Indians  came 
leaping  down  the  bluff.  The  men  escaped  without  injury  to  per- 
son, although  their  clothing  was  riddled  with  bullets.  I  quickly 
advanced  on  the  skirmish  line,  which  drove  out  40  or  50  Indians, 
and  making  a  similar  movement  on  the  opposite  flank,  passed 
through  the  gorge  and  gained  the  high  table  land.  Here,  three 
or  four  scouts,  sent  out  by  Colonel  Miles,  from  Tongue  River, 
joined  us.  They  had  been  driven  into  the  Tongue  upon  the  pre- 
vious evening,  there  corraled,  had  lost  their  horses  and  one  of 
their  number,  and  escaped  to  the  bluffs  under  cover  of  the  dark- 
ness.    The  dead  scout  was  found  and  buried. 

"  The  train  proceeded  along  the  level  prairie,  surrounded  by 
the  skirmish  line,  and  the  Indians  were  coming  thick  and  fast 
from  the  direction  of  Cabin  Creek.  But  few  shots  were  ex- 
changed, and  both  parties  were  preparing  for  the  struggle  which 
it  was  evident  would  take  place  at  the  deep  and  broken  ravine 
at  Clear  Creek,  through  which  the  train  must  pass.  We  cautious- 
ly entered  the  ravine,  and  from  150  to  200  Indians  had  gained 
the  surrounding  bluffs  to  our  left ;  signal  fires  were  lighted  for 
miles  around,  and  extended  far  away  on  the  opposite  side  of  the 
Yellowstone.  The  prairies  to  our  front  were  fired,  and  sent  up 
vast  clouds  of  smoke.  We  had  no  artilleiy,  and  nothing  remained 
to  us  except  to  charge  the  bluffs.  Company  C,  of  the  17th  In- 
fantry, and  Company  II,  of  the  22d  Infantry,  were  thrown  for- 
ward upon  the  run,  and  gallantly  scaled  the  bluffs,  answering  the 
Indian  yell  with  one  equally  as  barbarous,  and  driving  back  the 
enemy  to  another  ridge  of  hills.  We  then  watered  all  the  stock 
at  the  creek,  took  on  water  for  the  men,  and  the  train  slowly 
ascended  the  bluffs. 

"  The  country  now  surrounding  us  was  broken.  The  Indians 
continued  to  increase  in  numbers,  surrounded  the  train,  and  the 
entire  escort  became  engaged.  The  train  was  drawn  up  in  four 
strings,  and  the  entire  escort  enveloped  it  by  a  thin  skirmish  line. 
In  that  formation  we  advanced,  the  Indians  pressing  every  point, 
especially  the  rear,  Company  C,  17th,  which  was  only  able  to 
follow  by  charging  the  enemy,  and  then  retreating  rapidly  toward 
the  train,  taking  advantage  of  all  the  knolls  and  ridges  in  its 
course.  The  flanks,  Companies  G-,  17th,,andKand  G,  22d,  were 
advanced  about  1000  yards,  and  the  road  was  opened  in  the  front, 
by  Company  H,  22d,  by  repeated  charges. 


72  A    LETTER    FROM    SITTING    BULL. 

"  In  this  manner  we  advanced  several  miles,  and  then  halted 
for  the  night  upon  a  depression  of  the  high  prairie,  the  escort 
holding  the  surrounding  ridge.  The  Indians  now  had  attempted 
every  artifice.  They  had  pressed  every  point  of  the  line,  had  run 
their  fires  through  the  train,  which  we  were  compelled  to  cross 
with  great  rapidity,  had  endeavored  to  approach  under  cover  of 
smo*ke,  when  the}'  found  themselves  overmatched  by  the  officers 
and  men,  who,  taking  advantage  of  the  cover,  moved  forward  and 
took  them  at  close  range.  They  had  met  with  considerable  loss, 
a  good  many  of  their  saddles  were  emptied,  and  several  ponies 
wounded.  Their  firing  was  wild  in  the  extreme,  and  I  should 
consider  them  the  poorest  of  marksmen.  For  several  hours  they 
kept  up  a  brisk  fire  and  wounded  but  three  of  our  men. 

"Upon  the  morning  of  the  16th,  the  train  pulled  out  in  four 
strings,  and  we  took  up  the  advance,  formed  as  on  the  previous 
day.  Many  Indians  occupied  the  surrounding  hills,  and  soon  a 
number  approached,  and  left  a  communication  upon  a  distant  bill. 
It  was  brought  in  by  Scout  Jackson,  and  read  as  follows  : — 

"  Yellowstone." 
"  I  want  to  know  what  you  are  doing  traveling  on  this  road? 
you  scare  all  the  buffalo  away.  I  want  to  hunt  on  the  place.  I 
want  you  to  turn  back  from  here :  if  you  don't  I  will  fight  you 
again.  I  want  you  to  leave  what  you  have  got  here,  and  turn 
back  from  here. 

"  I  am  your  friend,         Sitting  Bull. 
"  I  mean  all  the  rations  you  have  got  and  some  powder  ;  I  wish 
you  would  write  as  soon  as  you  can." 

"  I  directed  the  Scout  Jackson  to  inform  the  Indians  that  I 
had  nothing  to  say  in  reply,  except  that  we  intended  to  take  the 
train  through  to  Tongue  River,  and  that  we  should  be  pleased  to 
accommodate  them  at  any  time  with  a  fight.  The  train  continued 
to  proceed,  and  about  eight  o'clock  the  Indians  began  to  gather 
for  battle. 

"  We  passed  through  the  long,  narrow  gorge,  near  Bad  Route 
Creek,  when  we  again  watered  the  stock,  and  took  in  wood  and 
water,  consuming  in  this  labor  about  an  hour's  time.  When  we 
had  pulled  up  the  gentle  ascent,  the  Indians  had  again  surround- 
ed us,  but  the  lesson  of  the  previous  day  taught  them  to  keep  at 
long  range,  and  there  was  but  little  firing  by  either  party.  I 
counted  150  Indians  in  our  rear,  and  from  their  movements  and 
position  I  judged  their  numbers  to  be  between   300  and  500. 


A    FLAG    OF    TRUCE.  73 

After  proceeding  a  short  distance,  a  flag  of  truce  appeared  on 
the  left  flank,  borne  by  two  Indians,  whom  I  directed  to  be 
allowed  to  enter  the  lines.  They  proved  to  be  Indian  scouts 
from  Standing  Rock  Agency,  bearing  dispatches  from  Lieut.  Col. 
Carlin,  of  the  17th  Infantry,  stating  that  the}*  had  been  sent  out 
to  find  Sitting  Bull,  and  to  endeavor  to  influence  him  to  proceed 
to  some  militar}*  post  and  treat  for  peace. 

"  These  scouts  informed  me  that  they  had  that  morning 
reached  the  camp  of  Sitting  Bull  and  Man-afraid-of-his-horse, 
near  the  mouth  of  Cabin  Creek,  and  that  they  had  talked  with 
Sitting  Bull,  who  wished  to  see  me  outside  the  lines.  I  declined 
the  invitation,  but  professed  a  willingness  to  see  Sitting  Bull 
within  my  own  lines.  The  scouts  left  me,  and  soon  returned 
with  three  of  the  principal  soldiers  of  Sitting  Bull — the  last 
named  individual  being  unwilling  to  trust  his  person  within  our 
reach.  The  chiefs  said  that  their  people  were  angry  because  our 
train  was  driving  awajT  the  buffalo  from  their  hunting  grounds, 
that  they  were  hungr}-  and  without  ammunition,  and  that;  they 
especially  wished  to  obtain  the  latter  ;  that  they  were  tired  of  war, 
and  desired  to  conclude  a  peace. 

"  I  informed  them  that  I  could  not  give  them  ammunition, 
that  had  they  saved  the  amount  already  wasted  upon  the  train 
it  would  have  supplied  them  for  hunting  purposes  for  a  long 
time,  that  I  had  no  authority  to  treat  with  them  upon  any  terms 
whatever,  but  they  were  at  libertj'  to  visit  Tongue  River,  and 
there  make  known  conditions.  They  wished  to  know  what  assur- 
ance I  could  give  them  of  their  safety  should  they  visit  that  place, 
and  I  replied  that  I  could  give  them  nothing  but  the  word  of  an 
officer.  Thev  then  wished  rations  for  their  people,  promising  to 
proceed  to  Fort  Rock  immediately,  and  from  thence  to  Tongue 
River.  I  declined  to  give  them  rations,  but  finally  offered  them 
as  a  present  1501b.  of  hard  bread  and  two  sides  of  bacon,  which 
they  gladly  accepted.  The  train  moved  on,  and  the  Indians  fell 
to  the  rear.  Upon  the  following  day  I  saw  a  number  of  them 
from  Cedar  Creek,  far  away  to  the  right,  and  after  that  time  they 
disappeared  entirely. 

"Upon  the  evening  of  the  18th  I  met  Col.  Miles  encamped  with 
his  entire  regiment  on  Custer  Creek.  Alarmed  for  the  safety  of 
the  train,  he  had  set  out  from  Tongue  River  upon  the  previous 
day." 


74  A    "TALK"    BETWEEN    THE    LINES. 

While  Col.  Otis  was  thus  gallantly  advancing  with 
his  train,  Col.  Miles,  of  the  5th  Infantry,  fearing  for 
its  safety,  had  crossed  the  Yellowstone  before  day- 
break on  the  1 7th  and  started  toward  Glendive.  He 
met  Col.  Otis,  as  above  stated,  on  the  evening  of  the 
18th ;  and  on  being  informed  of  the  attack  on  the 
train,  started  in  pursuit  of  the  enemy.  On  the  21st, 
when  about  eight  miles  beyond  Cedar  Creek ,  a  large 
number  of  Indians  appeared  in  front  of  the  column, 
and  two  of  them,  bearing  a  white  flag,  rode  up  to  the 
line.  They  proved  to  be  the  Standing  Rock  embas- 
sadors who  had  met  Col.  Otis;  and  brought  word 
that  Sitting  Bull  wished  a  conference  with  Col.  Miles. 
Lieut.  H.  R.  Bailey  accompanied  the  two  friendly 
Indians  to  the  hostile  camp,  and  there  arranged  with 
Sitting  Bull's  white  interpreter  for  a  meeting  to  take 
place  between  the  lines. 

The  troops  rested  on  their  arms  in  line  of  battle 
while  Col.  Miles  with  a  few  officers  rode  forward  and 
halted  about  half  way  between  the  two  forces.  Sit- 
ting Bull  with  a  dozen  unarmed  warriors  presently 
emerged  from  the  hostile  lines  and  walked  slowly 
forward  in  single  file.  Col.  Miles'  party  dismounted 
and  advanced  to  meet  them,  and  the  council  began. 
The  scene  was  picturesque  and  exciting ;  and  the  oc- 
casion one  of  much  anxiety  to  the  troops  who  remem- 
bered the  assassination  of  Gen.  Canby — especially  so 
when  dozens  of  armed  warriors  rode  forward  and  sur- 
rounded the  little  group. 

The  "talk"  was  long  and  earnest;  the  Indians 
wanted  an  "  old-fashioned  peace,"  with  privileges  of 
trade — especially  in  ammunition,  and  demanded  the 
discontinuing  of  supply  trains  and  the  abandonment 
of  Fort  Buford.     Col.  Miles  explained  that  he  could 


THE  COUNCIL  ENDS— THE  TROOPS  ADVANCE.     75 

only  accept  surrender  on  the  terms  of  absolute  sub- 
mission  to  the  U.  S.  Government.  At  evening  the 
conference  was  adjourned  to  the  next  day,  and  the 
parties  separated  as  quietly  as  they  had  assembled. 
In  the  morning  Col.  Miles  moved  his  command  north, 
so  as  to  intercept  retreat  in  that  direction.  At  about 
11a.  m.,  Sitting  Bull,  Pretty  Bear,  Bull  Eagle,  John, 
Standing  Bear,  Gall,  White  Bull  and  others,  came 
forward,  marching  abreast,  and  met  Col.  Miles  and 
several  officers  on  a  knoll  half  way  between  the  op- 
posing  lines.  The  Indians  asked  to  be  let  alone,  and 
professed  a  wish  for  peace,  but  such  a  peace  as  Col. 
Miles  could  not  concede.  u  After  much  talk  by  the 
various  chiefs,  Sitting  Bull  was  informed  once  and  for 
all  that  he  must  accept  the  liberal  conditions  offered 
by  the  Government  or  prepare  for  immediate  hostili- 
ties ;  and  the  council  dispersed — Sitting  Bull  disap- 
pearing like  a  shadow  in  the  crowd  of  warriors  behind 
him." 

"  The  scene,"  wrote  a  correspondent  of  the  Army  and  Navy 
Journal,  "  was  now  most  animated.  Col.  Miles  sent  for  his 
company  commanders,  and  they  came  charging  over  the  field 
to  receive  his  final  instructions.  On  the  other  side,  the  Sioux 
leaders  rode  hither  and  thither  at  full  speed  in  front  of  their  line, 
marshaling  their  men  and  haranguing  them,  calling  on  them  to 
be  brave.  Sitting  Bull's  interpreter,  Bruej7,  rode  back  to  ask 
why  the  troops  were  following  him  ?  He  was  answered  by  Col. 
Miles,  that  the  non-acceptance  of  the  liberal  terms  offered  was 
considered  an  act  of  hostility,  and  he  would  open  fire  at  once. 
The  whole  line  then  advanced  in  skirmish  order.  One  company 
occupied  a  knoll  on  the  left  with  the  3-inch  gun,  the  first  shell 
from  which  was  greeted  with  a  hearty  cheer  from  the  advancing 
line.  The  Indians  tried  their  old  tactics  and  attempted  rear  and 
flank  attacks  from  the  ravines,  but  they  found  those  vital  points 
well  protected  by  companies  disposed  en  potence,  which  poured 
in  a  torrent  of  lead  wherever  an  Indian  showed  himself.     The 


76  CHIEFS    SURRENDER    AS    HOSTAGES. 

firing  then  became  general  along  the  whole  line.  Some  of  the 
sharpest  shooting  was  done  by  the  Sioux,  and  many  officers  only 
escaped  "  close  calls  "  by  the  ends  of  their  hair.  Two  enlisted 
men  were  wounded.  Finally,  Sitting  Bull,  finding  his  old  plan 
of  battle  frustrated  by  that  solid  infantry  skirmish  line  advanc- 
ing upon  him  with  the  relentless  sternness  of  fate,  began  a 
general  and  precipitate  retreat." 

The  pursuit  was  resolutely  kept  up.  The  Indians 
fled  down  Bad  Route  Creek  and  across  the  Yellow- 
stone, a  distance  of  42  miles,  abandoning  tons  of  dried 
meat,  lodge-poles,  camp  equipments,  ponies,  etc.  The 
troops  on  foot  followed  rapidly,  not  stopping  to  count 
the  dead  or  gather  the  plunder ;  and  the  result  was, 
that  on  the  27th  of  October  five  principal  chiefs  sur- 
rendered themselves  to  Col.  Miles,  on  the  Yellow- 
stone, opposite  the  mouth  of  Cabin  Creek,  as  hostages 
for  the  surrender  of  their  whole  people,  represented 
as  between  400  and  500  lodges,  equal  to  about  2,000 
souls.  The  hostages  were  sent  under  escort  to  Gen. 
Terry,  at  St.  Paul,  and  the  Indians  were  allowed  five 
days  in  their  then  camp  to  gather,  food,  and  thirty 
days  to  reach  the  Cheyenne  Agency  on  the  Missouri 
River,  where  they  were  to  surrender  their  arms  and 
ponies,  and  remain  either  as  prisoners  of  war  or 
subject  to  treatment  such  as  is  usually  accorded  to 
friendly  Indians. 

Sitting  Bull  was  not  among  the  chiefs  who  surren- 
dered ;  during  the  retreat,  they  said,  he  had  slipped 
out,  with  thirty  lodges  of  his  own  special  followers, 
and  gone  northerly. 


CHAPTER   XI. 

TEEEY   AND    CROOK   AT   THE  SIOUX   AGENCIES. 

The  disarming  and  dismounting  of  the  Sioux 
Agency  Indians  being  deemed  necessary  as  a  pre- 
cautionary measure,  to  prevent  the  hostile  Indians 
from  receiving  constant  supplies  of  arms,  ammuni- 
tion, and  ponies  from  their  friends  at  the  agencies, 
General  Sheridan  directed  Generals  Crook  and  Terry 
to  act  simultaneously  in  accomplishing  that  object. 
The  friendly  and  unfriendly  Indians  at  the  agencies 
were  so  intermixed,  that  it  seemed  impossible  to  dis- 
criminate between  them. 

After  refitting  at  the  Black  Hills,  Gen.  Crook  pro- 
ceeded to  the  Red  Cloud  Agency,  and  found  the 
Indians  there  in  a  dissatisfied  mood  and  probably 
about  to  start  to  join  the  hostile  bands.  They  had 
moved  out  some  25  miles  from  the  agency,  and  re- 
fused to  return  although  informed  that  no  more 
rations  would  be  given  them  till  they  did  so. 

At  daylight,  Oct.  2 2d,  Col.  Mackenzie,  the  post 
commander,  with  eight  companies  of  the  4th  and 
5th  Cavalry,  surrounded  the  Indian  camp  containing 
30u  lodges,  and  captured  Red  Cloud  and  his  whole 
band,  men,  squaws  and  ponies  without  firing  a  shot, 
and  marched  them  into  the  agency  dismounted  and 
disarmed.  The  Indians  at  Spotted  Tail  Agency  were 
also  disarmed  and  dismounted, 


78  A    GLEAM    OF    DAYLIGHT. 

Gen.  Crook  had  an  interview  with  Spotted  Tail? 
and  being  satisfied  that  he  was  the  only  important 
Sioux  leader  who  had  remained  friendly,  he  deposed 
Red  Cloud,  and  declared  Spotted  Tail,  his  rival,  the 
"  Sachem  of  the  whole  Sioux  Nation,  by  the  grace  of 
the  Great  Father  the  President.  As  the  representa- 
tive of  the  latter,  Gen.  Crook  invested  him  with  the 
powers  of  a  grand  chief,  and  in  token  thereof  pre- 
sented him  his  commission  as  such,  written  upon  a 
parchment  scroll  tied  with  richly  colored  ribbons. 
Spotted  Tail's  heart  was  very  glad." 

"The  line  of  the  hostile  and  the  peacably  dis- 
posed," wrote  Gen.  Crook  at  this  time,  "is  now 
plainly  drawn,  and  we  shall  have  our  enemies  only 
in  the  front  in  the  future.  I  feel  that  this  is  the  first 
gleam  of  daylight  we  have  had  in  this  business." 

Meantime  Gen.  Terry,  with  the  7th  Cavalry  and 
local  garrisons,  was  disarming  and  dismounting  the 
Indians  at  the  Standing  Rock  and  Cheyenne  River 
Agencies.  The  following  is  a  copy  of  his  report  to 
Gen.  Sheridan,  written  at  Standing  Rock,  Oct.  25th: — 

"  Colonel  Sturgis  left  Lincoln  on  the  20th,  Major  Reno  on  the 
21st,  and  each  arrived  here  on  the  afternoon  of  the  22d.  Sturgis 
immediately  commenced  dismounting  and  disarming  the  Indians 
at  Two  Bears'  camp,  on  the  left  bank  of  the  river,  and  Lieut. 
Col.  Carlin,  with  his  own  and  Reno's  forces,  dismounted  and  dis- 
armed them  at  both  camps  on  this  side.  Owing  partially  to  the 
fact  that  before  I  arrived  at  Lincoln  news  was  sent  the  Indians 
here,  it  is  said,  by  Mrs.  Galpin,  that  we  were  coming,  and  our 
purpose  stated  ;  but  principally,  I  believe,  that  some  time  since,, 
owing  to  the  failure  of  the  grass  here,  the  animals  were  sent  to 
distant  grazing  places  many  miles  awaj*,  comparatively  only  a  few 
horses  were  found.  I,  therefore,  the  next  morning,  called  the 
chiefs  together,  and  demanded  the  surrender  of  their  horses  and 
arms,  telling  them  that  unless  they  complied  their  rations  would 
be  stopped,  and  also  telling  them  that  whatever  might  be  realized 


WHAT    BECAME    OF    THE    PONIES.  79 

from  the  sale  of  the  property  taken  would  be  invested  in  stock 
for  them.  They  have  quietly  submitted,  and  have  sent  out  to 
bring  in  their  animals.  Some  have  already  arrived-,  and  we 
have  now  in  our  possession  700.  More  are  arriving  rapidly,  and 
I  expect  to  double  that  number.  I  have  kept  the  whole  force 
here  until  now  for  the  effect  its  presence  produces. 

"  I  shall  start  Sturgis  to-morrow  morning  for  Cheyenne,  leav- 
ing Reno  until  Carlin  completes  the  work  here.  Only  a  few  arms 
have  yet  been  found  or  surrendered,  but  I  think  our  results  are 
satisfactory.  Not  a  shot  was  fired  on  either  side  of  the  river. 
Of  course  no  surprise  can  now  be  expected  at  Cheyenne.  The 
desired  effect  will  be  attained  there  by  the  same  means  as  those 
employed  here." 

The  late  Sioux  Commissioners,  who  made  a  treaty 
for  the  Black  Hills  in  Sept.  1876,  gave  their  pledge 
that  all  friendly  Indians  would  be  protected  in  their 
persons  and  property.  Bishop  Whipple  comments  on 
the  dismounting  of  the  Indians  as  follows : — 

"  In  violation  of  these  pledges  2,000  ponies  were  taken  from 
Chej'enne  and  Standing  Rock  Agencies.  No  inventory  was 
kept  of  individual  propert}\  Of  1,100  ponies  taken  at  Standing 
Rock,  only  874  left  Bismark  for  Saint  Paul.  No  provision  was 
made  to  feed  them  on  the  way.  The  grass  had  burned  on  the 
prairie  and  there  was  several  inches  of  snow  on  the  ground. 
The  small  streams  were  frozen,  and  no  water  was  to  be  had  until 
the}-  reached  the  James  River.  There  was  no  grass,  and  no  hay 
could  be  purchased  until  they  reached  the  Cheyenne  River,  more 
than  ten  days'  travel,  and  then  nothing  until  they  reached  Fort 
Abercrombie.  No  wonder  that  there  were  only  1,200  ponies  out 
of  2,000  that  left  Abercrombie,  and  that  of  these  only  500  reached 
St.  Paul.  The  wretched,  dying  brutes  were  made  the  subject  of 
jest  as  the  war  horses  of  the  Dakota.  Many  died  on  the  way, 
many  were  stolen,  and  the  remnant  were  sold  in  St.  Paul.  It 
was  worse  than  the  ordinary  seizure  of  property  without  color  of 
law.  It  was  not  merely  robbery  of  our  friends.  It  was  cruel. 
The  Indians  are  compelled  to  camp  from  10  to  40  miles  away 
from  the  agency  to  find  fuel.  They  have  to  cross  this  distance 
in  the  coldest  weather  to  obtain  their  rations,  and  without  ponies 
they  must  cross  on  foot,  and  some  of  them  may  perish." 


g()  GEN.    CROOK'S    ADDRESS    TO    HIS    TROOPS. 

Gen.  Crook  issued  at  Red  Cloud  Agency  Ms  Gen- 
eral Orders,  No.  8 — in  part  as  follows : — 

Headquarters  Department  of  the  Platte,  in  the  Field,  ) 
Camp  Robinson,  Neb.,  Oct.  24th,  1876.      J 

"  The  time  having  arrived  when  the  troops  composing  the  Big 
Horn  and  Yellowstone  Expedition  are  about  to  separate,  the 
Brigadier-General  commanding  addresses  himself  to  the  officers 
and  men  of  the  command,  to  say  : — 

"  In  the  campaign  now  closed  he  has  been  obliged  to  call  upon 
you  for  much  hard  service  and  many  sacrifices  of  personal  com- 
fort. At  times  you  have  been  out'  of  reach  of  j^our  base  of  sup- 
plies ;  in  most  inclement  weather  you  have  marched  without 
food  and  slept  without  shelter.  In  your  engagements  j^ou  have 
evinced  a  high  order  of  discipline  and  courage,  in  your  marches 
wonderful  powers  of  endurance,  and  in  your  deprivations  and 
hardships,  patience  and  fortitude. 

"  Indian  warfare  is,  of  all  warfare,  the  most  trying,  the  most 
dangerous,  and  the  most  thankless  ;  not  recognized  by  the  high 
authority  of  the  United  States  Congress  as  war,  it  still  possesses 
for  you  the  disadvantages  of  civilized  warfare  with  all  the '  horri- 
ble accompaniments  that  barbarians  can  invent  and  savages  can 
execute.  In  it,  you  are  required  to  serve  without  the  incentive 
to  promotion  or  recognition  ;  in  truth,  without  favor  or  hope  of 
reward. 

"  The  people  of  our  sparsely  settled  frontier,  in  whose  defence 
this  war  is  waged,  have  but  little  influence  with  the  powerful 
communities  in  the  East ;  their  representatives  have  little  voice 
in  our  national  councils,  while  your  savage  foes  are  not  only  the 
wards  of  the  nation,  supported  in  idleness,  but  objects  of  sym- 
pathy with  a  large  number  of  people  otherwise  well  informed 
and  discerning.  You  may,  therefore,  congratulate  yourselves 
that  in  the  peformance  of  your  military  duty  you  have  been 
on  the  side  of  the  weak  against  the  strong,  and  that  the  few 
people  there  are  on  the  frontier  will  remember  j*our  efforts  with 
gratitude." 

Gen.  Crook's  losses  during  the  campaign  extending 
from  May  27th  to  Oct.  24th,  were  12  killed,  32 
wounded  (most  of  whom  subsequently  returned  to 
duty),  one  death  by  accident  and  one  by  disease. 


CHAPTER   XII. 

THE   WINTER    OF   1876-7. 

After  leaving  Red  Cloud,  Gen.  Crook  marched  to 
Fort  Fetterman  and  organized  a  new  column  for  a 
winter  expedition  against  the  enemy.  Subsequently, 
with  a  force  of  ten  companies  of  cavalry  under  Col. 
Mackenzie,  eleven  companies  of  infantry  and  four  of 
artillery  under  Lieut.  Col.  R.  I.  Dodge,  and  about  200 
Indian  allies,  some  of  whom  were  friendly  Sioux  en- 
listed at  Red  Cloud  Agency,  Gen.  Crook  advanced 
to  old  Fort  Reno,  head  of  Powder  River,  where  a  can- 
tonment had  been  built. 

Hearing  that  a  band  of  Cheyenne  Indians  were  en- 
camped among  the  Big  Horn  Mountains  to  the  south- 
west, Gen.  Crook,  Nov.  23d,  sent  Col.  Mackenzie  with 
his  cavalry  and  the  Indian  allies  to  hunt  them  up.  At 
noon,  Nov.  24th,  after  marching  some  30  miles  along 
the  base  of  the  mountains  toward  the  Sioux  Pass,  Mac- 
kenzie met  five  of  seven  Indian  scouts  who  had  been 
sent  ahead  the  evening  previously.  These  scouts 
reported  that  they  had  discovered  the  camp  of  the 
Cheyennes  at  a  point  in  the  mountains  about  20  miles 
distant,  and  that  the  other  two  scouts  had  remained 
to  watch  the  camp. 

A  night's  march  was  decided  upon  and,  at  sunset, 
after  a  halt  of  three  hours,  the  command  moved  for- 
ward toward  the  village ;  but  owing  to  the  roughness 


82  A    CHEYENNE    VILLAGE    DESTROYED. 

of  the  country,  it  was  daylight  when  they  reached  the 
mouth  of  a  canyon  leading  to  and  near  the  village. 
Through  this  canyon  the  column  advanced,  crossing 
several  deep  ravines,  and  when  within  a  mile  of  the 
camp  the  order  to  charge  was  given.  The  Indian 
allies,  who  were  in  front,  rushed  forward  howling  and 
blowing  on  instruments,  and  some  of  them  subse- 
quently ascended  the  side  of  the  canyon  and  occupied 
a  high  bluff  opposite  to  and  overlooking  the  village. 

The  surprise  was  nearly  complete ;  but  some  of  the 
Cheyennes,  whom  the  scouts  had  reported  as  being  en- 
gaged in  a  war  dance,  sounded  the  alarm  on  a  drum, 
and  began  firing  on  the  advancing  column.  The  in- 
habitants immediately  deserted  their  lodges,  taking 
nothing  but  their  weapons  with  them,  and  took  refuge 
in  a  net- work  of  very  difficult  ravines  beyond  the 
upper  end  of  the  village.  A  brisk  fight  for  about 
an  hour  ensued,  after  which  skirmishing  was  kept  up 
until  night.  The  village  of  173  lodges  and  their 
entire  contents  were  destroyed,  about  500  ponies 
were  captured,  and  the  bodies  of  25  Indians  killed  in 
the  engagement  were  found.  Col.  Mackenzie's  loss 
was  Lieut.  J.  A.  McKinney  and  six  men  killed,  and 
twenty-two  men  wounded. 

On  the  4th  of  Dec,  Gen.  Crook  left  Fort  Reno  with 
his  whole  force,  and  moved  down  Little  Powder 
River,  intending  to  form  at  its  junction  with  Powder 
River  a  supply  camp  from  which  to  operate  against 
the  Indians.  Subsequently,  however,  he  crossed  over 
to  the  Belle  Fourche  River,  and,  Dec.  22d,  started  for 
Fort  Fetterman  where  he  arrived  Dec.  29th.  The 
weather  during  this  homeward  march  was  at  times 
intensely  cold,  and  the  men  and  horses  suffered  con- 
siderably thereby. 


AN    EXCURSION    NORTHWARD.  83 

While  Gen.  Crook  was  thus  looking  for  and  harass- 
ing the  Indians  in  the  Powder  River  country,  the 
isolated  garrison  of  the  Tongue  River  cantonment,  fur- 
ther north,  were  not  idle.  An  excursion  northward  in 
search  of  Sitting  Bull  was  led  by  Col.  Miles,  the  post- 
commander,  and  as  reports  as  to  the  location  of  the 
Indians  were  conflicting  and  their  trails  obscured  by 
snow,  he  divided  his  force,  and  sent  Lieut.  Frank  D. 
Baldwin  with  three  companies  of  the  5th  Infantry 
to  the  north  of  the  Missouri,  while  he  examined  the 
the  Mussel  Shell  and  Dry  Forks  country. 

On  the  7th  of  Dec,  Lieut.  Baldwin  discovered 
Sitting  Bull's  band,  and  followed  the  Indians  to  the 
Missouri  River,  where  they  crossed  and  for  a  short 
time  resisted  the  crossing  of  the  troops.  The  Indians 
then  retreated  south,  but  were  overtaken  in  the  Red- 
wood country  and  attacked,  Dec.  18th.  Their  camp  of 
122  lodges  was  captured  and  burned  with  its  contents, 
and  60  mules  and  horses  were  taken.  The  Indians 
escaped,  but  carried  off  little  property  except  what 
they  had  on  their  backs.  Lieut.  Baldwin's  command 
marched  on  this  expedition  over  500  miles — walking 
on  one  occasion  73  miles  in  48  hours — and  endured 
the  cold  of  a  Montana  winter  with  great  fortitude. 

A  very  unfortunate  affair  occurred  at  the  Tongue 
River  cantonment,  within  a  few  hundred  yards  of  the 
parade-ground,  Dec.  16th.  The  following  is  from  Col. 
Miles'  report  thereof : — 

"As  five  Minneconjou  chiefs  were  coming  in,  bearing  two 
white  flags,  followed  by  twenty  or  thirty  other  Indians,  and  were 
passing  by  the  Crow  Indian  camp,  the  five  in  advance  were  sur- 
rounded by  twelve  Crows  and  instantly  killed.  The  act  was  an 
unprovoked,  cowardly  murder.  The  Crows  approached  them  in 
a  friendly  manner,  said  "  How,"  shook  hands  with  them,  and 
when  they  were  within  their  power  and  partly  behind  a  large 


84  MASSACRE    OF    FIVE    CHIEFS. 

wood  pile,  killed  them  in  a  most  brutal  manner.  Upon  hearing 
the  first  shot,  both  officers  and  men  rushed  out  and  tried  to  save 
the  Minneconjous,  but  could  not  reach  them  in  time.  The  Crows 
were  aware  of  the  enormity  of  their  crime,  as  they  saw  that  the 
Minneconjous  had  a  flag  of  truce,  and  they  were  told  to  come 
back.  They  were  waraed  the  day  before  against  committing  any 
act  of  violence  against  messengers  or  other  parties  coming  in 
for  friendly  purposes.  The}-  tried  to  hide  the  flag  of  truce  andT 
taking  advantage  of  the  momentary  excitement,  while  efforts 
were  being  made  to  open  communication  and  bring  back  the 
others,  who  were  following,  and  who  became  alarmed  and  fled  to 
the  bluffs,  the  guilt}-  Crow  Indians  jumped  upon  their  ponies  and 
fled  to  their  agency  in  Montana.  The  only  thing  that  can  be 
said  in  defence  of  the  Crows  is,  that  a  false  report  was  made  by 
one  of  the  Crow  women  that  the  Sioux  had  fired  upon  her,  and 
that  within  the  last  few  months  some  of  their  number  had  lost 
relatives  killed  by  the  Sioux  in  the  vicinity  of  the  Rosebud. 
These  Indians  have  claimed  to  be  friends  of  the  white  man  for 
years,  have  been  frequently  in  the  Government  emplo}r,  and  were 
brought  down  to  fight  such  outlaws  as  Sitting  Bull  and  Crazy 
Horse. 

"  Those  killed  were  believed  to  be  Bull  Eagle,  Tall  Bull,  Red 

,  Red  Cloth,  and  one  other  prominent  chief  of  the  Sioux 

nation.  I  am  unable  to  state  the  object  of  Bull  Eagle's  coming, 
but  am  satisfied  he  came  with  the  best  of  motives.  I  can  onl}- 
judge  from  the  following : — When  he  surrendered  on  the  Yellow- 
stone, after  the  engagement  on  Cedar  Creek,  he  was  the  first  to 
respond  to  my  demands,  and,  I  believe,  was  largely  instrumental 
in  bringing  his  people  to  accept  the  terms  of  the  Government. 
When  I  had  received  five  of  the  principal  chiefs  as  hostages,  and 
was  about  parting  with  him,  I  told  him,  if  he  had  any  trouble  in 
going  in,  or  his  people  hesitated  or  doubted  that  the  Govern- 
ment would  deal  fairly  and  justly  with  them,  to  come  back  to  me, 
and  I  would  tell  him  what  to  do ;  that  if  he  would  come  back  to 
my  command,  I  would  be  glad  to  see  him  and,  so  long  as  he 
complied  with  the  orders  of  the  Government,  he  could  be  assured 
of  the  friendship  of  its  officers.  I  could  not  but  regard  him  with 
respect,  as  he  appeared  in  every  sense  a  chief,  and  seemed  to  be 
doing  everything  in  his  power  for  the  good  of  his  people,  and 
endeavoring  to  bring .  them  to  a  more  peaceful  condition.     He 


THE    TREACHEROUS    CROWS.  85 

appeared  to  have  great  confidence  in  what  I  told  him ;  I  gave 
him  five  days  to  obtain  meat ;  during  that  time  he  lost  three 
favorite  ponies,  which  were  brought  to  this  place.  During  my 
absence  he  came  in,  bringing  five  horses  that  had  strayed  or 
been  stolen  from  some  citizens  in  the  vicinity,  and  requested  his 
own.  He  also  inquired  if  he  could  send  up  to  the  Big  Horn 
country  for  the  remainder  of  his  people,  and  take  them  in  on  the 
pass  I  had  given  him.  He  was  informed  by  the  commanding 
officer,  Gen.  Whistler  (whom  he  had  known  for  years  before), 
that  he  could,  and  was  told  to  send  for  them.  Whether  he  had 
met  with  some  trouble  in  taking  his  people  in  to  their  agency,  and 
had  returned,  as  I  had  told  him,  for  directions,  or  had  gathered 
up  his  people,  and  in  passing  had  come  in  to  apprise  me  of  the 
fact,  I  know  not ;  but  there  is  ever}"  reason  to  believe  that  the 
above  mentioned  circumstances  gave  rise  to  his  motives  and 
prompted  his  actions. 

"  The  Crows  were  immediately  disarmed,  twelve  of  their  ponies 
taken  from  them,  and  other  considerations,  together  with  a  letter 
explaining  the  whole  affair,  were  sent  to  the  people  and  friends 
of  those  killed,  as  an  assurance  that  no  white  man  had  any  part 
in  the  affair,  and  that  we  had  no  heart  for  such  brutal  and  cow- 
ardly acts. 

"  It  illustrates  clearly  the  ferocious,  savage  instincts  of  even 
the  best  of  these  wild  tribes,  and  the  impossibility  of  their  control- 
ling their  desire  for  revenge  when  it  is  aroused  by  the  sight  of 
their  worst  enemies,  who  have  whipped  them  for  3rears  and  driven 
them  out  of  this  country.  Such  acts  are  expected  and  considered 
justifiable  among  these  two  tribes  of  Indians,  and  it  is  to  be  hoped 
that  the  Sioux  will  understand  that  they  fell  into  a  camp  of  their 
ancient  enemies,  and  did  not  reach  the  encampment  of  this 
command." 

In  January,  1877,  Col.  Miles  with  350  of  his  troops 
marched  southerly  sixty  miles  up  the  Tongue  River, 
and  on  the  evening  of  the  7th  discovered  a  large 
Indian  village.  Skirmishing  ensued,  and  on  the  next 
day  1000  well-armed  warriors  appeared  in  front,  and  a 
battle  was  fought.  The  battle-ground  was  very  rough 
and  broken,  and  a  heavy  snow  storm  came  on  during 
the  fight.  The  Indians  fought  with  desperation ;  but 
33 


86  A    WINTER    FIGHT    IN    THE    WOLF    MOUNTAINS. 

our  troops  had  been  so  admirably  arranged  that  they 
succeeded  in  gaining  a  decisive  victory.  The  follow- 
ing is  Col.  Miles'  report  of  the  affair : — 

"I  have  the  honor  to  report  that  this  command  fought  the 
hostile  tribes  of  Cheyenne  and  Ogallala  Sioux,  under  Crazy 
Horse,  in  skirmishes  on  the  1st,  3d,  and  7th  of  January,  and  in  a 
five  hours'  engagement  on  the  8th  inst.  Their  camp,  consisting 
of  some  500  lodges,  extended  three  miles  along  the  valley  of 
Tongue  River,  below  Hanging  Woman's  Creek.  They  were 
driven  through  the  canyons  of  the  Wolf  or  Panther  Mountains,  in 
the  direction  of  Big  Horn  Mountains.  Their  fighting  strength 
outnumbered  mine  by  two  or  three  to  one,  but  by  taking  advan- 
tage of  the  ground  we  had  them  at  a  disadvantage,  and  their  loss 
is  known  to  be  heavy.  Our  loss  is  three  killed  and  eight  wound- 
ed. They  fought  entirely  dismounted,  and  charged  on  foot  to 
within  fifty  yards  of  Captain  Casey's  line,  but  were  taken  in  front 
and  flank  by  Captain  Butler's  and  Lieutenant  McDonald's  com- 
panies. They  were  whipped  at  every  point  and  driven  from  the 
field,  and  pursued  so  far  as  m3r  limited  supplies  and  worn  down 
animals  would  carry  my  command." 

The  following  additional  particulars  are  derived 
from  a  letter  to  the  Army  and  Navy  Journal : — 

"  On  the  5th  January,  Indian  signs  grew  thicker  and  thicker. 
Miles  of  hastily  abandoned  war  lodges  were  passed.  The 
country  became  very  rough.  The  valley  of  the  Tongue  grew 
narrower,  the  stream  more  tortuous,  and  the  hills  on  both  sides 
loftier  and  more  precipitous,  until  the  valley  shrank  into  a  pro- 
longed and  winding  canyon.  At  short  distances,  jutting  bluffs 
made  narrow  passes  which  offered  points  of  vantage  to  the  savage 
enemy.     The  gorges  of  the  Wolf  Mountains  had  been  reached. 

"  On  the  6th,  the  march  was  through  a  large  war  camp,  recently 
and  hurriedly  abandoned.  Unusual  heat  was  followed  b}-  snow. 
In  the  evening  there  was  snow  and  hail  driven  by  a  cruel  wind, 
and  by  5  p.  m.  it  was  pitch  dark.  On  the  evening  of  the  7th,  the 
scouts  captured  four  Cheyenne  squaws,  a  youth,  and  three  3*oung 
children.  Two  hundred  Indians  made  a  dash  at  the  scouts,  shot 
two  of  their  horses  and  made  a  desperate  effort  to  take  them. 
Casey  opened  a  musketry  fire  on  the  Indians,  and  darkness  super- 
vening, the}r  withdrew. 


CHEYENNE    CAPTIVES-SONGS    OF    TRIUMPH.  87 

"  Next  morning  the  fight  was  renewed  shortly  after  daylight. 
The  Indians  charged  down  the  valley  in  large  force,  close  up  to 
the  skirmish  line,  but  failed  to  make  any  impression.  They  then 
turned  their  attention  to  the  flanks,  and  began  to  swarm  on  the 
bluffs  to  the  right.  The  action  then  became  general.  The 
Indians  were  in  strong  force,  and  tried  ever}*  point  of  the  line. 
The  hills  and  woods  resounded  with  their  cries  and  the  high- 
pitched  voices  of  the  chiefs  giving  their  orders. 

"  It  is  the  opinion  of  some  who  have  had  years  of  experience 
in  Indian  fighting,  that  there  has  rarely,  if  ever,  been  a  fight 
before  in  which  the  Sioux  and  Che3'enne  showed  such  determina- 
tion and  persistency,  where  they  were  finally  defeated.  They 
had  chosen  their  ground  ;  and  it  has  since  been  learned  that  they 
expected  to  make  another  Custer  slaughter.  The  Cheyenne 
captives,  in  the  hands  of  the  troops,  sang  songs  of  triumph 
during  the  entire  fight,  in  anticipation  of  a  speedy  rescue  and  the 
savage  orgies  of  a  massacre." 

In    a   complimentary   order  to   his   troops,  dated 

Jan.  31st,  Col.  Miles  says: — 

"  Here  in  the  home  of  the  hostile  Sioux,  this  command,  during 
the  past  three  months,  has  marched  1200  miles  and  fought  three 
engagements — besides  affairs  of  less  importance.  *  *  *  Fortun- 
ate indeed  is  the  officer  who  commands  men  who  will  improvise 
boats  of  wagon  beds,  fearlessly  dash  out  into  the  cold  and  turbid 
waters,  and  amid  the  treacherous  current  and  floating  ice,  cross 
and  recross  the  great  Missouri ;  who  will  defy  the  elements  on 
these  bleak  plains  in  a  Montana  winter ;  and  who  have  in  every 
field  defeated  superior  numbers." 

The  dismounting  and  disarming  policy  was  kept  up 
at  the  Agencies  through  the  winter.  Several  bands 
came  in  and  surrendered — among  them  that  of  Red 
Horse,  who  had  been  actively  hostile.  This  chief 
thus  describes  the  engagement  on  the  Little  Big 
Horn.  The  "  brave  officer  "  referred  to  is  said  to  be 
Capt.  T.  H.  French,  of  Reno's  battalion. 

"  On  the  morning  of  the  attack,  myself  and  several  women 
were  out  about  a  mile  from  camp  gathering  wild  turnips.  Sud- 
denly one  of  the  women  called  my  attention  to  a  cloud  of  dust 


88  SURRENDER    OF    RED    HORSE. 

rising  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  camp.  I  soon  discovered  that 
troops  were  making  an  attack.  We  ran  for  the  camp,  and 
when  I  got  there  I  was  sent  for  at  once  to  come  to  the  council- 
lodge.  I  found  many  of  the  council  men  ahead}7  there  when  I 
arrived.  We  gave  directions  immediately  for  every  Indian  to 
get  his  horse  and  arms ;  for  the  women  and  children  to  mount 
the  horses  and  get  out  of  the  way,  and  for  the  young  men  to  go 
and  meet  the  troops. 

"  Among  the  troops  was  an  officer  who  rode  a  horse  with  four 
white  feet.  The  Indians  have  fought  a  great  many  tribes  of 
people,  and  very  brave  ones,  too,  but  they  all  say  that  this  man 
was  the  bravest  man  they  had  ever  met.  I  don't  know  whether 
this  man  was  General  Custer  or  not.  This  officer  wore  a  large- 
brimmed  hat  and  buckskin  coat.  He  alone  saved  his  command 
a  number  of  times  b}T  turning  on  his  horse  in  the  retreat.  In 
speaking  of  him,  the  Indians  call  him  the  'man  who  rode  the 
horse  with  four  white  feet.' 

"  After  driving  this  party  back,  the  Indians  corraled  them  on 
top  of  a  high  hill,  and  held  them  there  until  they  saw  that  the 
women  and  children  were  in  danger  of  being  made  prisoners  by 
another  party  of  troops  which  just  then  made  its  appearance 
below.  The  word  passed  among  the  Indians  like  a  whirlwind,  and 
they  all  started  to  attack  the  new  party,  leaving  the  troops  on  the 
hill.  When  we  attacked  the  other  party,  we  swarmed  down  on 
them  and  drove  them  in  confusion.  No  prisoners  were  taken. 
All  were  killed.  None  were  left  alive  even  for  a  few  minutes. 
These  troopers  used  very  few  of  their  cartridges.  I  took  a  gun 
and  a  couple  of  belts  off  two  dead  men.  Out  of  one  belt  two 
cartridges  were  gone  ;  out  of  the  other  five. 

"  It  was  with  captured  ammunition  and  arms  that  we  fought 
the  other  body  of  troops.  If  they  had  all  remained  together  they 
would  have  hurt  us  very  badly.  The  party  we  killed  made  five 
different  starts.  Once  we  charged  right  in  until  we  scattered  the 
whole  of  them,  fighting  among  them  hand  to  hand.  One  band  of 
soldiers  was  right  in  the  rear  of  us  when  they  charged.  We  fell 
back,  and  stood  for  one  moment  facing  each  other.  Then  the 
Indians  got  courage  and  started  for  them  in  a  solid  body.  We 
went  but  a  little  distance  when  we  spread  out  and  encircled  them. 
All  the  time  I  could  see  their  officers  riding  in  front,  and  hear 
them  shouting  to  their  men.  We  finished  up  the  party  right  there 
in  the  ravine. 


SPOTTED    TAIL'S   MISSION— CRAZY   HORSE    SURRENDERS.    89 

"  The  troops  up  the  river  made  their  first  attack,  skirmishing  a 
little  while  after  the  fight  commenced  with  the  other  troops  below 
the  village.  While  the  latter  fight  was  going  on  we  posted  some 
Indians  to  prevent  the  other  command  from  forming  a  junction. 
As  soon  as  we  had  finished  the  fight  we  all  went  back  to  masacre 
the  troops  on  the  hill.  After  skirmishing  around  awhile  we  saw 
the  walking  soldiers  coming.  These  new  troops  making  their 
appearance  was  the  saving  of  the  others.  An  Indian  started  to 
go  to  Red  Cloud  Agencj-  that  day,  and  when  a  few  miles  from 
camp  discovered  dust  rising.  He  turned  back  and  reported  that 
a  large  herd  of  buffalo  was  approaching  the  camp,  and  a  short 
time  after  he  reported  this  the  camp  was  attacked  by  troops." 

In  February,  Spotted  Tail,  with  a  body-guard  of  200 
warriors,  started  out  to  visit  his  roaming  brethren  as 
a  peacemaker ;  and  through  his  influence,  or  for  other 
reasons,  all  the  hostile  bands,  it  is  believed,  except 
Sitting  Bull's,  have  accepted  the  terms  offered  by  the 
Government  and  surrendered  their  arms  and  ponies. 
One  band  of  about  1000  encircled  the  Indian  camp 
at  Spotted  Tail  Agency,  April  16th,  and  after  dis- 
charging their  guns  in  the  air  by  way  of  salutation, 
surrendered  to  Gen.  Crook.  Roman  Nose,  whose 
village  was  destroyed  at  Slim  Buttes,  indicated  his 
desire  for  peace  in  a  short  speech  and  by  laying  his 
rifle  at  the  feet  of  the  General.  Five  days  later,  500 
Cheyennes,  with  600  ponies,  came  into  Red  Cloud 
Agency.  Their  village  near  Sioux  Pass  had  been 
destroyed  in  November,  and  they  were  in  a  destitute 
and  pitiable  condition. 

Crazy  Horse  and  his  band  of  900  Indians  surren- 
dered at  Red  Cloud,  May  5th.  They  appeared  to  be 
in  a  comfortable  condition  and  had  2000  ponies. 

At  the  latest  date,  Sitting  Bull  and  his  band  were 
reported  moving  toward  Canada.  If  they  return 
south,  Col.  Miles  will  be  prepared  to  give  them  a 
suitable  reception. 


CHAPTER    XIII. 

A   BIOGRAPHICAL    SKETCH    OF   MAJOR-GENERAL    CUSTER. 

George  Armstrong  Custer,  son  of  Emmanuel  H. 
Custer,  a  hard-working,  enterprising  farmer,  was  born 
at  New  Rumley,  Harrison  County,  Ohio,  December 
5th,  1839.  He  grew  up  into  an  active,  athletic,  and 
amiable  youth,  acquired  a  fair  English  education,  and 
at  the  age  of  sixteen  years  engaged  in  teaching  school 
near  his  native  town. 

Having  determined  to  go  to  West  Point  if  possible, 
young  Custer  addressed  a  letter  on  the  subject  to 
Hon.  John  A.  Bingham,  Member  of  Congress  from 
his  district,  to  whom  he  was  personally  unknown, 
and  subsequently  called  on  him.  The  result  was 
that  he  entered  West  Point  Academy  as  a  cadet  in 
1857.  The  official  notification  of  his  appointment 
was  signed  by  Jefferson  Davis,  President  Buchanan's 
secretary  of  war. 

As  a  cadet,  Custer  did  not  achieve  a  brilliant  record 
either  for  scholarship  or  good  behavior.  This  was 
not  owing  to  any  want  of  intelligence  or  quickness  of 
comprehension,  but  rather  to  a  love  of  mischief  and 
hatred  of  restraint.  During  the  four  years  of  his 
academic  term  he  spent  66  Saturdays  in  doing  extra 
guard  duty  as  penance  for  various  oifences ;  and  he 
graduated  in  1861,  at  the  foot  of  a  class  of  34. 

His  stay  terminated  with  a  characteristic  incident. 


GENERAL    GEORGE    A.    CUSTER. 


FROM    WEST    POINT    TO    BULL    RUN.  91 

He  chanced  one  day  when  officer  of  the  guard  to  come 
upon  two  angry  cadets,  who  from  words  had  come 
to  blows,  and  were  just  ready  to  settle  their  difficulty 
with  their  fists.  Custer  pushed  through  the  crowd 
of  spectators  who  surrounded  the  combatants,  but 
instead  of  arresting  them,  as  was  his  duty,  he  re- 
strained those  who  were  endeavoring  to  restrain  them, 
and  called  out : — 

"  Stand  back,  boys ;  let's  have  a  fair  fight." 

His  appeal  was  heard  by  Lieuts.  Hazen  and  Merritt, 
and  he  was  placed  under  arrest  and  kept  back  to  be 
court-martialed,  while  the  rest  of  his  class,  (excepting 
such  as  had  already  resigned  to  join  the  Southern 
army)  departed  for  active  service.  The  court-martial 
was  however  cut  short,  through  the  exertions  of  his 
fellow  cadets  at  Washington,  by  a  telegraphic  order 
summoning  him  there. 

Custer  reported  to  the  Adjutant-General  of  the 
Army  at  Washington,  July  20th,  and  was  by  him  in- 
troduced to  Gen.  Scott.  The  company  (G,  2nd 
Cavalry)  to  which  he  had  been  assigned,  with  the 
rank  of  2nd  lieutenant,  was  at  this  time  near  Center- 
ville,  and  as  he  was  to  join  it,  Gen.  Scott  entrusted  to 
him  some  dispatches  for  Gen.  McDowrell  who  com- 
manded the  troops  in  the  field.  A  night's  ride  on 
horseback  took  him  to  the  army,  the  dispatches  were 
delivered,  and  then  he  joined  his  company  before 
daybreak  just  as  they  were  preparing  to  participate  in 
the  battle  of  Bull  Run.  In  this  battle,  however,  the 
cavalry  took  but  little  part;  in  the  frantic  retreat 
that  followed,  Custer's  company  was  among  the  last 
to  retire,  and  did  so  in  good  order,  taking  with  them 
Gen.  Heintzelman  who  was  wounded. 

After  Gen.  McClellan  took  command  of  the  army, 


92  LITE    OF    GENERAL    CUSTER. 

Custer's  company  was  attached  to  Gen.  Phil  Kearny's 
brigade,  and  that  general  detailed  Custer  as  his  aid- 
de-camp,  and  afterwards  as  assistant  adjutant-general, 
which  position  he  held  till  deprived  of  it  by  a  general 
order  prohibiting  officers  of  the  regular  army  from 
serving  on  the  staffs  of  volunteer  officers. 

About  this  time  he  obtained  leave  of  absence  on 
account  of  ill  health,  and  visited  his  sister,  Mrs.  Reed, 
at  her  home  in  Monroe,  Michigan ;  and  it  is  said  that 
through  her  entreaties  and  influence  he  then  gave  up 
the  habit  of  using  strong  drinks,  which,  in  common 
with  many  of  his  fellow  officers,  he  had  acquired 
during  his  brief  army  life  near  Washington.  Thence- 
forth, through  the  remainder  of  his  life,  he  drank  no 
intoxicating  liquor. 

Returning  to  the  army  in  Feb.  1862,  he  was  assign- 
ed to  the  5th  Cavalry,  and  when  the  enemy  evacuated 
Manassas  he  participated  in  the  advance  on  that  place, 
and  led  the  company  which  drove  the  hostile  pickets 
across  Cedar  Run. 

When  the  Army  of  the  Potomac  was  transferred  to 
the  Peninsula,  Custer's  company  was  among  the  first 
to  reach  Fortress  Monroe,  and  it  then  marched  to 
Warwick.  Here  he  was  detailed  as  assistant  to  the 
chief  engineer,  on  Gen.  W.  F.  Smith's  staff;  he  served 
in  that  capacity  during  the  siege  of  Yorktown,  and 
planned  the  earthwork  nearest  the  enemy's  lines. 
At  the  battle  of  Williamsburg,  where  he  acted  as  aid- 
de-camp  to  Gen.  Hancock,  he  effected  the  capture  of 
a  battle-flag — the  first  taken  by  the  Army  of  the 
Potomac. 

When  the  army  was  encamped  near  the  Chicka- 
hominy  River,  late  in  May,  Custer  accompanied 
Gen.  Barnard,  the  chief  engineer  of  the  army,  on  a 


ON    McCLELLAN'S    STAFF.  93 

reconnoisance  outside  the  picket  line  to  the  bank  of 
the  river ;  and  at  the  request  of  his  superior,  he  dis- 
mounted, jumped  into  the  river,  and  waded  across 
the  stream — the  object  being  to  ascertain  the  depth 
of  the  water,  which  in  some  places  came  nearly  up  to 
his  shoulders.  On  reaching  the  opposite  bank  he 
examined  the  ground  for  some  distance,  and  discover- 
ed, unseen  by  them,  the  position  of  the  enemy's 
pickets.  Barnard  reported  to  McClellan  that  the 
river  was  fordable,  and  how  he  had  ascertained  that 
it  was  so.  McClellan  sent  for  Custer,  and  was  so 
pleased  with  his  appearance  and  courageous  act  that 
he  transferred  him  to  his  own  staff;  and  in  June, 
Custer  received  from  the  Secretary  of  War  his  appoint- 
ment as  additional  aid-de-camp,  with  the  rank  of 
captain  during  the  pleasure  of  the  President.  Previ- 
ously to  this  he  had  crossed  the  Chickahominy  at  day 
break  with  a  company  of  infantry,  attacked  the 
enemy's  picket  post,  and  captured  prisoners  and  arms. 
Custer  served  on  McClellan's  staff  through  all 
of  the  Peninsular  campaign;  and  after  the  battles 
of  Gaines'  Mills,  Fair  Oaks,  Malvern  Hill,  etc.,  re- 
treated with  him  to  the  protection  of  the  gunboats  at 
Harrison's  Landing  on  the  James  Biver.  Subsequent- 
ly, after  the  withdrawal  of  the  army  from  the  Penin- 
sula and  the  defeat  of  Banks  and  Pope  in  Virginia, 
he  was  McClellan's  aid-de-camp  in  the  Maryland  cam- 
paign which  closed  with  the  battle  of  Antietam. 
When  McClellan  was  superseded  by  Burnside,  Nov. 
10th,  1862,  Custer  accompanied  his  chief  to  Washing- 
ton, and  subsequently  visited  his  friends  in  Ohio 
and  Michigan.  His  staff  position  as  captain  ceased 
with  the  retirement  of  McClellan,  and  he  was  now  a 
first  lieutenant,  commisioned  July  17th,  1862. 


94  LIFE    OF    GENERAL    CUSTER. 

In  April,  1863,  Custer  rejoined  his  company  which 
was  with  Gen.  Hooker's  army  near  Fredericksburg,  and 
took  part  in  the  battle  of  Chancellorsville.  In  June 
he  was  on  the  staff  of  Gen.  Pleasonton,  then  chief  of 
the  cavalry  corps,  and  was  conspicuous  at  Beverly 
Ford  and  other  places  across  the  Rappahannock 
where  Stuart's  cavalry  were  met  and  roughly  handled. 

At  the  battle  of  Aldie,  Virginia,  Custer  distin- 
guished himself  in  the  charge  made  by  Kilpatrick's 
cavalry.  The  onset  was  irresistible;  the  Confederate 
forces  were  driven  back  in  confusion,  and  Custer's 
impetuosity  carried  him  far  within  their  lines,  from 
which  he  was  allowed  to  escape  in  consequence,  he 
believed,  of  the  similarity  of  his  hat  to  those  worn 
by  the  Confederates.  For  his  gallantry  in  this  action, 
Custer  was  promoted  at  one  bound  from  a  first  lieu- . 
tenant  to  a  brigadier-general. 

Gen.  Custer  was  now  assigned  to  the  command  of 
a  Michigan  brigade  in  Kilpatrick's  division,  the  1st, 
5th,  6th  and  7th  Cavalry,  and  joined  his  command  at 
Hanover,  Md.,  June  29th.  The  next  day  he  was  en- 
gaged in  a  skirmish  with  Stuart's  cavalry,  and  attract- 
ed the  attention  of  all  by  the  peculiarity  of  his  dress. 
He  wore  abroad-brimmed,  low-crowned  felt  hat ;  loose 
jacket  and  trowsers  of  velveteen,  the  former  profusely 
trimmed  with  gold-braid  and  the  latter  tucked  into 
high  boots;  a  blue  shirt,  with  turnover  collar  on 
either  corner  of  which  was  an  embroidered  star ;  and 
a  flaming  neck-tie. 

The  battle  of  Gettysburg  was  now  in  progress,  and 
on  the  2nd  of  July  Custer  distinguished  himself,  and 
won  the  respect  of  his  officers,  by  charging  the  enemy 
at  the  head  of  a  company  of  his  troops,  having  his 
horse  shot  under  him.     The  next   day   his   brigade 


A   GENERAL    AT    GETTYSBURG— CHASING    THE    FOE.       95 

was  actively  engaged,  and  the  charge  of  the  1st 
Michigan  Cavalry,  supported  by  a  battery,  is  desig- 
nated by  Custer  as  one  of  the  most  brilliant  and  suc- 
cessful recorded  in  the  annals  of  warfare. 

After  the  battle  Gen.  Lee  retreated  rapidly  toward 
the  Potomac,  and  the  cavalry  moving  by  different 
routes  harassed  him  continually,  capturing  trains  and 
prisoners.  The  following  paragraph  is  copied  from 
Headley's  "History  of  the  Civil  War." 

"  Kilpatrick  clung  to  the  rebel  army  with  a  tenacity  that  did 
not  allow  it  a  moment's  rest.  At  midnight,  in  a  furious  thunder 
storm,  he  charged  down  the  mountain  through  the  darkness  with 
unparalleled  boldness,  and  captured  the  entire  train  of  Elwell's 
division,  eight  miles  long.  At  Emmettsburg,  Haggerstown,  and 
other  places,  he  smote  the  enemy,  with  blow  after  blow.  Buford, 
Gregg,  Custer,  and  others,  performed  deeds  which,  but  for  the 
greater  movements  that  occupied  public  attention,  would  have 
filled  the  land  with  shouts  of  admiration.  In  fact,  the  incessant 
protracted  labors  of  the  cavalry  during  this  campaign,  rendered 
it  useless  for  some  time." 

Custer's  brigade  came  upon  the  enemy's  rear  guard 
at  Falling  Waters,  and  the  6th  Michigan  made  a 
gallant  charge  which  was  repulsed  with  considerable 
loss ;  but  after  a  two  hours'  fight  the  enemy  was 
driven  to  the  river;  Gen.  Pettegrew  and  125  of  his 
men  were  killed,  and  1500  were  taken  prisoners; 
cannon  and  battle-flags  were  also  captured. 

When  the  cavalry  crossed  the  Rappahannock  in 
September,  pushing  back  Stuart's  cavalry  to  Brandy 
Station,  Culpepper  C.  H.,  and  across  the  Rapidan, 
Custer,  as  usual,  was  with  the  advance,  and  in  one 
engagement  was  slightly  wounded  by  a  piece  of  a 
shell — the  first  and  only  time  he  was  wounded  during 
the  war.  After  a  short  vacation  in  consequence  of 
his  wound,  he   rejoined   his  command   in  season  to 


$Q  LIFE    OF    GENERAL    CUSTER. 

accompany  the  advance  of  cavalry  to  and  across  the 
Rapidan  in  October;  and  when  Mead's  army  was 
forced  back  across  the  Rappahannock,  he  assisted  in 
covering  the  retreat.  The  following  description  of 
the  engagement  at  Brandy  Station  is  also  copied  from 
Headley : — 

"  Pleasonton,  with  the  cavalry,  remained  behind  to  watch  the 
enemy,  and  then  slowly  retired  toward  the  retreating  army. 
Buford  had  been  forced  back  more  rapidly  than  Kilpatrick,  whose 
command — with  Davis  over  the  right  brigade,  and  Custer  over 
the  left — fell  back  more  slowly.  When  the  latter  reached  Brandy 
Station,  he  found  the  former,  ignorant  of  his  movements,  was 
far  in  advance,  leaving  his  right  entirely  exposed.  To  make 
matters  worse  Stuart  had  passed  around  his  left,  so  that  Kil- 
patrick, with  whom  was  Pleasonton  himself,  was  suddenly  cut 
off.  The  gallant  leader  saw  at  a  glance  the  peril  of  his  position, 
and,  riding  to  a  slight  eminence  took  a  hasty  survey  of  the 
ground  before  him.  He  then  gave  his  orders,  and  three  thousand 
swords  leaped  from  their  scabbards,  and  a  long,  loud  shout 
rolled  over  the  field. 

"  With  a  heavy  line  of  skirmishers  thrown  out,  to  protect  his 
flanks  and  rear,  he  moved  in  three  columns  straight  on  the  rebel 
host  that  watched  his  coming.  At  first,  the  well-closed  columns 
advanced  on  a  walk,  while  the  batteries  of  Pennington  and  Elder 
played  with  fearful  precision  upon  the  hostile  ranks.  He  thus 
kept  on,  till  within  a  few  hundred  yards  of  the  rebel  lines,  when 
the  band  struck  up  "Yankee  Doodle."  The  next  instant,  a  hun- 
dred bugles  pealed  the  charge,  and  away,  with  gleaming  sabres 
and  a  wild  hurrah,  went  the  clattering  squadrons.  As  the}'  came 
thundering  on,  the  hostile  lines  parted,  and  let  them  pass  proudly 
through.  Buford  was  soon  overtaken,  and  a  line  of  battle  formed  ; 
for  the  rebels,  outraged  to  think  they  had  let  Kilpatrick  off  so 
easy,  reorganized,  and  now  advanced  to  the  attack. 

"A  fierce  cavalry  battle  followed,  lasting  till  after  dark. 
Pleasonton,  Buford,  Kilpatrick,  Custer  and  Davis  again  and 
again  led  charges  in  person.  It  seemed  as  if  the  leaders  on  both 
sides  were  determined  to  test,  on  the  plains  of  Brandy  Station, 
the  question  of  superiority  between  the  cavalry  ;  for  the  charges 
on  both  sides  were  of  the  most  gallant  and  desperate  character. 


CAVALRY    BATTLE    AT    BRANDY    STATION— MARRIAGE.        97 

The  dark  masses  would  drive  on  each  other,  through  the  deep- 
ening gloom,  with  defiant  yells,  while  the  flashing  sabres  struck 
fire  as  they  clashed  and  rung  in  the  fierce  conflict.  At  length 
the  rebels  gave  it  up,  and  our  cavalry,  gathering  up  its  dead 
and  wounded,  crossed  the  Rappahannock." 

In  the  spirited  encounter  near  Buekland's  Mills, 
Oct.  19th,  in  which  Stuart,  aided  by  a  flank  attack 
from  Fitz  Hugh  Lee,  worsted  Kilpatrick  by  force  of 
numbers,  Custer's  brigade  bore  tha  brunt  of  the 
attack,  and  did  most  of  the  fighting  on  our  side. 
This  fight  terminated  the  active  campaign  of  1863 
for  Custer's  brigade,  which  subsequently  guarded  the 
upper  fords  of  the  Rapidan. 

On  the  9th  of  February,  1864,  Gen.  Custer  was 
married  at  Monroe,  Michigan,  to  Miss  Elizabeth 
Bacon,  only  daughter  of  Judge  Daniel  S.  Bacon  of 
Monroe.  When  he  rejoined  his  command  at  Stevens- 
burg  a  few  days  later,  his  wife  accompanied  himr 
and  she  remained  in  camp  till  the  opening  of  the 
spring  campaign  of  1864.  The  marriage  was,  as  far 
as  Custer  was  concerned,  the  consequence  of  love  at 
first  sight,  and  ever  proved  to  be  for  both  parties  a 
happy  one. 

Late  in  February,  1864,  Gen.  Custer  crossed  the 
Rapidan  with  1500  cavalry  in  light  marching  order,, 
flanking  Lee's  army  on  the  west,  and  pushed  rapidly 
ahead  to  within  four  miles  of  Charlottesville,  where 
he  found  his  progress  arrested  by  a  far  superior  force. 
He  then  turned  northward  toward  Stannardsville 
where  he  again  encountered  the  enemy,  and  after 
skirmishing,  returned  to  his  camp  followed  by  some 
hundreds  of  refugees  from  slavery.  This  raid  was 
designed  to  draw  attention  from  a  more  formidable 
one  led  by  Kilpatrick  at  the  same  time. 


CHAPTER    XIV. 

a  biographical  sketch  of  major-general  ctjster. 
(continued.) 

In  the  spring  of  1864,  Gen.  Grant  was  placed  at 
the  head  of  all  the  Union  armies ;  Gen.  Sheridan 
was  called  to  command  the  cavalry  corps  in  place  of 
Gen.  Pleasonton;  and  Cnster  with  his  brigade  was 
transferred  to  the  First  division  under  Torbert. 

In  May,  the  Army  of  the  Potomac  once  more  ad- 
vanced to  the  Rapidan  and  crossed  it.  In  the  battle 
of  the  Wilderness,  owing  to  the  character  of  the  field, 
the  cavalry  were  compelled  to  remain  almost  idle 
spectators,  but  subsequently,  at  Spottsylvania  C.  H., 
Torbert's  division  was  seriously  engaged. 

On  the  9th  of  May,  Gen.  Sheridan  started  out  on 
his  first  great  cavalry  raid  toward  Richmond.  At 
Beaverdam  Station  he  inflicted  great  damage  on  the 
railroads,  destroyed  much  property,  and  liberated  400 
Union  prisoners  on  their  way  to  Richmond.  Contin- 
uing his  march,  he  found,  at  Yellow  Tavern  a  few 
miles  north  of  Richmond,  Stuart's  cavalry  drawn  up 
to  oppose  his  passage.  A  spirited  fight  ensued,  re- 
sulting in  the  death  of  Stuart  and  the  dispersion  of 
his  troops.  Our  cavalry  pressed  on  down  the  road  to 
Richmond,  and  Custer's  brigade  attacked  and  carried 
the  outer  line  of  defenses,  and  took  100  prisoners. 


WITH  SHERIDAN  IN  THE  SHENANDOAH  VALLEY.    99 

The  second  line  of  works  was  too  strong  to  be  taken 
by  cavalry,  and  Sheridan  was  obliged  to  retreat. 
Beating  off  assailants  both  in  front  and  rear  he  crossed 
the  Chickahominy,  pushed  southward  to  Haxall's 
Landing  on  the  James  River,  and  then  leisurely  re- 
turned by  way  of  White  House  and  Hanover  C.  H. 
to  Grant's  army,  arriving  in  time  to  be  present  at  the 
sanguinary  battle  of  Cool  Arbor. 

On  the  9th  of  June,  Custer  accompanied  Sheridan 
on  a  raid  around  Lee's  army.  They  struck  the  rail- 
road at  Trevilian's,  drove  off  a  large  force  of  the 
enemy  and  broke  up  a  long  section  of  the  road.  Re- 
tracing their  steps  to  Trevilian's,  they  had  there  a 
spirited  contest  with  Fitz  Hugh  Lee,  and  then  drew 
off  and  rejoined  Gen.  Grant.  During  this  raid  Sher- 
idan lost  over  700  men,  and  captured  400  prisoners. 

In  the  autumn  of  1864,  two  divisions  of  cavalry 
under  Torbert  were  with  Sheridan's  army  operating 
in  the  Shenandoah  Valley.  Custer's  brigade  was  in 
the  First  division,  commanded  by  Merritt.  Averill 
commanded  the  Second  division. 

Having  received  from  Gen.  Grant  the  order,  "  Go 
in" — the  only  instructions  which  Grant  deemed  it 
necessary  to  give — Sheridan,  Sept.  1 9th,  attacked  the 
Confederate  forces  at  Opequan  Creek.  The  artillery 
opened  along  the  whole  line,  the  columns  moved 
steadily  forward,  and  Gen.  Early  soon  discovered  that 
Sheridan  was  in  earnest.  Early's  position  was  a 
strong  one,  and  he  stubbornly  held  it  until  the 
cavalry  bugles  were  heard  on  his  right,  as  the  firm-set 
squadrons  bore  fiercely  down.  Rolled  up  before  the 
impetuous  charge,  the  rebel  line  at  length  crumbled 
into  fragments,  and  the  whole  army  broke  in  utter  con- 
fusion and  was  sent  "  whirling  through  Winchester," 


100  LIFE    OF    GENERAL    CUSTER. 

followed  until  dark  by  the  pursuing  cavalry.  3000 
prisoners  were  taken. 

Three  days  later  Sheridan  attacked  Early  at  Fish- 
er's Hill — a  strong  position  to  which  he  had  retired — 
and  again  forced  him  to  retreat  with  a  loss  of  1100 
men  taken  prisoners.  The  cavalry  pursued  so  sharp- 
ly and  persistently,  that  Early  left  the  valley  and  took 
refuge  in  the  mountains  where  cavalry  could  not 
operate. 

On  the  26th  of  Sept.,  Custer  was  transferred  from 
the  command  of  the  Michigan  brigade  in  the  First 
division  to  the  head  of  the  Secoud  division ;  but 
before  he  was  able  to  reach  his  new  command,  he  was 
placed  at  the  head  of  the  Third  division,  with  which 
he  had  formerly  been  connected  under  Kilpatrick. 

When  Sheridan  moved  back  through  the  valley 
from  Port  Republic  to  Strasburg,  sparing  the  houses, 
but  burning  all  the  barns,  mills  and  hay-stacks,  and 
driving  off  all  the  cattle,  his  rear  was  much  harassed 
by  the  rebel  cavalry  under  Gen.  Rosser — a  class-mate 
of  Custer's  at  West  Point ;  and  on  the  night  of  Oct. 
8th,  Sheridan  ordered  Torbert  to  "  start  out  at  day- 
light, and  whip  the  rebel  cavalry  or  get  whipped  him- 
self." Accordingly  on  the  next  morning  the  cavalry, 
led  on  by  Merritt  and  Custer  and  supported  by  bat- 
teries, swept  boldly  out  to  attack  a  larger  force  drawn 
up  in  battle  array.  At  the  first  charge  upon  them 
Rosser's  men  broke  and  fled,  but  subsequently  rallied, 
and  were  again  pushed  back  and  utterly  routed. 
Rosser  lost  all  his  artillery  but  one  piece,  and  every- 
thing else  which  was  carried  on  wheels,  and  was  pur- 
sued to  Mt.  Jackson,  26  miles  distant.  Of  this  affair, 
Gen.  Torbert  reported : — 

"  The  First  Division  captured  five  pieces  of  artillery,  their 


A    BRILLIANT    VICTORY— AN    EARLY    SURPRISE.  101 

ordnance,  ambulance,  and  wagon  trains,  and  60  prisoners.  The 
Third  Divison  captured  six  pieces  of  artillery,  all  of  their  head- 
quarter wagons,  ordnance,  ambulance,  and  wagon  trains.  There 
could  hardly  have  been  a  more  complete  victory  and  rout.  The 
cavalry  totally  covered  themselves  with  glory,  and  added  to  their 
long  list  of  victories  the  most  brilliant  one  of  them  all,  and  the 
most  decisive  the  county  has  ever  witnessed." 

On  the  15th  of  Oct.,  Sheridan  started  on  a  flying 
visit  to  Washington,  leaving  his  army  encamped  on 
three  ridges  or  hills.  The  crest  nearest  the  enemy 
was  held  by  the  Army  of  West  Virginia  under  Crook ; 
half  a  mile  to  the  rear  of  this  was  the  second  one,  held 
by  the  19th  Corps  under  Emory;  and  still  further  to 
the  rear,  on  the  third  crest,  was  the  6th  Corps  under 
Gen.  Wright,  who  commanded  the  whole  army  during 
Sheridan's  absence.  The  cavalry  under  Torbert  lay  to 
the  right  of  the  6th  Corps. 

Gen.  Early,  having  resolved  to  surprise  and  attack 
the  Union  army,  started  out  his  troops  on  a  dark  and 
foggy  night,  and  advanced  unperceived  and  unchal- 
lenged in  two  columns  along  either  flank  of  the  6th 
Corps.  The  march  was  noiseless ;  and  trusty  guides 
led  the  steady  columns  through  the  gloom,  now  push- 
ing through  the  dripping  trees  and  now  fording  a 
stream,  till  at  length,  an  hour  before  day-break,  Oct. 
1 8th,  Early's  troops,  shivering  with  cold,  stood  within 
600  yards  of  Crook's  camp.  Two  of  Crook's  pickets 
had  come  in  at  2  a.  m.  and  reported  a  heavy,  muffled 
tramp  heard  at  the  front;  but  though  some  extra 
precautions  were  taken,  no  one  dreamed  that  an  at- 
tack would  be  made. 

Crook's  troops,  slumbering  on  unconscious  of  danger, 

were  awakened  at  daybreak  by  a  deafening  yell  and 

the  crack   of  musketry  on   either   flank;   following 

which,  charging  lines  regardless  of  the  pickets  came 

34 


102  LIFE    OF    GENERAL    CUSTER. 

immediately  on  over  the  breastworks.  The  surprise 
was  complete,  and  after  a  brief  struggle  the  Army  of 
West  Virginia  was  flying  in  confusion  toward  the 
second  hill  occupied  by  the  19th  Corps.  Emory  at- 
tempted to  stop  the  progress  of  the  enemy,  but  the}' 
got  in  his  rear,  and  his  command  soon  broke  and  fled 
with  the  rest  toward  the  hill  where  the  6th  Corps  lay. 

(•xen.  Wright  formed  a  new  line  of  battle,  and  re- 
pulsed a  tremendous  charge  of  the  enemy,  thus  ob- 
taining time  to  cover  the  immense  crowd  of  fugitives 
that  darkened  the  rear.  A  general  retreat  was  then 
begun  and  continued  in  good  order  till  10  a.  m. 
when,  the  enemy  having  ceased  to  advance,  Wright 
halted  and  commenced  reorganizing  the  scattered 
troops.  The  cavalry,  being  at  the  rear  and  extreme 
right,  had  not  suffered  in  the  first  assault  on  the 
Union  army,  but  they  were  subsequently  transferred 
to  the  left  flank,  and  did  brave  service  in  covering 
the  retreat  of  the  infantry. 

Meanwhile  Sheridan,  returning  from  Washington, 
had  slept  at  Winchester  20  miles  distant,  and  in  the 
morning  rode  leisurely  toward  his  army.  The 
vibrations  of  artillery  at  first  surprised  him,  and  he 
soon  became  aware  that  a  heavy  battle  was  raging 
and  that  his  army  was  retreating.  Dashing  his  spurs 
into  his  horse  he  pushed  madly  along  the  road,  and 
soon  left  his  escort  far  behind.  Further  on  he  met 
fugitives  from  the  army,  who  declared  that  all  was 
lost.  As  the  cloud  of  fugitives  thickened  he  shouted, 
as  he  drove  on  and  swung  his  cap,  "  Face  the  other 
way,  boys;  we  are  going  back  to  our  camp;  we 
are  going  to  lick  them  out  of  their  boots."  The 
frightened  stragglers  paused,  and  then  turned  back. 

On  arriving  at  the  front,  where  the  work  of  reorgan- 


THE  CAVALRY  AT  CEDAR  CREEK.         103 

ization  was  already  well  advanced,  Sheridan  inspired 
his  men  with  new  courage  by  his  appearance  and 
words.  For  two  hours  he  rode  back  and  forth  in 
front  of  the  line,  encouraging  the  troops ;  and  when 
the  order  was  given,  "  The  entire  line  will  advance, 
etc.,"  the  infantry  went  steadily  forward  upon  the 
enemy.  Early's  front  was  soon  carried,  while  his 
left  was  partly  turned  back ;  and  after  much  desper- 
ate fighting,  his  astonished  troops  turned  and  fled  in 
utter  confusion  over  the  field. 

"  As  they  streamed  down  into  the  Middletown  meadow,"  says 
Headley,  "Sheridan  saw  that  the  time  for  the  cavalry  had 
come,  and  ordered  a  charge.  The  bugles  pealed  forth  their 
stirring  notes,  and  the  dashing  squadrons  of  Custer  and  Merritt 
came  down  like  a  clattering  tempest  on  the  right  and  left, 
doubling  up  the  rebel  flanks,  and  cleaving  a  terrible  path  through 
the  broken  ranks.  Back  to,  and  through  our  camp,  which  they 
had  swept  like  a  whirlwind  in  the  morning,  the  panic-stricken 
rebels  went,  pellmell,  leaving  all  the  artillery  they  had  captured, 
and  much  of  their  own,  and  strewing  the  w&y  with  muskets, 
clothing,  knapsacks,  and  everything  that  could  impede  their 
flight.  The  infantry  were  too  tired  to  continue  the  pursuit,  but 
the  cavalry  kept  it  up,  driving  them  through  Strasburg  to  Fisher's 
Hill,  and  beyond,  to  Woodstock,  sixteen  miles  distant." 

After  the  battle  of  Cedar  Creek  and  during  the 
winter  of  1864 — 5,  Sheridan's  army,  including  Cus- 
ter's division,  remained  inactive,  occupying  canton- 
ments around  Winchester. 

On  the  27th  of  Feb.,  Sheridan  started  out  on  his  last 
great  raid,  taking  with  him  Gen.  Merritt  as  chief  of 
cavalry,  the  First  and  Third  divisions  of  cavalry 
under  Generals  Devin  and  Custer,  artillery,  wagons, 
and  pack-mules.  The  raiding  column,  including  ar- 
tillerymen and  teamsters,  numbered  10,000  men. 

Moving  rapidly  up  the  Shenandoah  Valley  over  the 
turnpike  road,  they  passed  many   villages   without 


104  LIFE    OF    GENERAL    CUSTER. 

halting  or  opposition,  and  on  the  29th,  approached 
Mount  Crawford,  where  Rosser  with  400  men.  dis- 
puted the  passage  over  a  stream  and  attempted  to 
burn  the  bridge ;  but  Col.  Capehart  of  Custer's  com- 
mand, which  was  in  advance,  by  a  bold  dash  drove 
Rosser  away  and  saved  the  bridge. 

Custer  now  pushed  on  to  Waynesboro'  and  finding 
Early  intrenched  there,  immediately  attacked  him. 
The  result,  as  told  by  Sheridan,  was  as  follows  : — 

"  Gen.  Custer  found  Gen.  Early  in  a  well  chosen  position,  with 
two  brigades  of  infantry,  and  some  cavalry  under  Rosser,  the 
infantry  occupying  breastworks.  Custer,  without  waiting  for  the 
enemy  to  get  up  courage  over  the  delay  of  a  careful  reconnois- 
ance,  made  his  dispositions  for  attack  at  once.  Sending  three 
regiments  around  the  left  flank  of  the  enemy,  Custer  with  the 
other  two  brigades,  partly  mounted  and  partly  dismounted,  at  a 
given  signal  attacked  and  impetuously  carried  the  enemy's  works  ; 
while  the  Eight  New  York  and  the  First  Connecticut  cavalry, 
who  were  formed  in  columns  of  fours,  charged  over  the  breast- 
works, and  continued  the  charge  through  the  streets  of  Waynes- 
boro', sabring  a  few  men  as  they  went  along,  and  did  not  stop 
until  they  had  crossed  the  South  Fork  of  the  Shenandoah, 
(which  was  immediately  in  Early's  rear)  where  they  formed  as 
foragers,  and  with  drawn  sabres  held  the  east  bank  of  the  stream. 
The  enemy  threw  down  their  arms  and  surrendered,  with  cheers 
at  the  suddenness  with  which  they  had  been  captured." 

Sixteen  hundred  prisoners,  11  pieces  of  artillery, 
200  loaded  wagons,  and  17  battle-flags  were  captured 
single-handed  by  Custer  at  Waynesboro',  while  his 
own  loss  was  less  than  a  dozen  men.  Vast  amounts 
of  public  property  were  subsequently  destroyed.  The 
prisoners  were  sent  to  Winchester  under  guard. 

Pushing  on  across  the  Blue  Ridge  in  a  heavy  rain 
during  the  night  after  Early's  defeat,  Custer,  still  in 
the  van,  approached  Charlottesville  the  next  after- 
noon, and  was  met  by  the  authorities,  who  surrendered 


LAST    RAID    OF    THE    CAVALRY.  105 

to  him  the  keys  of  the  public  buildings  as  a  token  of 
submission.  The  balance  of  the  column  soon  came  up, 
and  two  days  were  spent  in  destroying  bridges,  mills, 
and  the  railroad  leading  to  Lynchburg. 

Sheridan  now  divided  his  command,  and  sent 
Merritt  and  Devin  to  destroy  the  canal  from  Scotts- 
ville  to  New  Market,  while  he  and  Custer  tore  up 
the  railroads  as  far  west  as  Amherst  C.  H.  The  col- 
umns united  again  at  New  Market  on  the  James 
River ;  and  as  the  enemy  had  burned  the  bridges  so 
they  could  not  cross  to  the  south  side,  they  moved 
eastward  behind  Lee's  army,  destroying  bridges,  canals, 
railroads  and  supplies,  thus  inflicting  a  more  serious 
blow  to  the  confederate  cause  than  any  victories  by 
land  or  sea  gained  during  the  last  campaign.  Then 
they  swept  around  by  the  Pamunkey  River  and 
White  House,  and  joined  Grant's  besieging  army  in 
front  of  Petersburg,  March  27th.  They  encamped 
on  the  extreme  left  of  the  lines,  close  to  their  old 
comrades  of  the  Second  Division  of  cavalry,  (now 
under  Gen.  Crook)  who  here  again  came  under  Sheri- 
dan's command. 


CHAPTER    XV. 

a  biographical  sketch  of  major-general  custer, 
(continued.) 

The  final  struggle  for  the  possession  of  Richmond 
and  Petersburg  was  now  commenced  by  an  extension 
of  the  Union  lines  westward,  Grant's  object  being  to 
attack  the  right  flank  of  the  Confederates. 

On  the  29th  of  March,  Sheridan,  with  his  cavalry, 
moved  southwest  to  Dinwiddie  C.  H.,  where  Devin's 
and  Crook's  divisions  halted  for  the  night.  Custer 
was  some  distance  in  the  rear  protecting  the  train. 
In  the  morning,  Devin  pushed  the  enemy  back  north- 
erly to  their  intrenchments  at  Five  Forks ;  but  being 
unable  to  advance  further,  he  returned  to  Dinwiddie 
C.  H.  Gen.  Warren,  with  the  5th  Infantry  Corps,  had 
meantime  been  put  under  Sheridan's  command  as  a 
support  to  the  cavalry,  but  had  not  yet  come  up. 

The  next  day,  31st,  Lee's  troops  attacked  Warren 
unexpectedly,  and  drove  two  of  his  divisions  back 
upon  a  third,  where  their  advance  was  stopped ;  and 
with  the  assistance  of  Humphrey's  2nd  Corps,  the 
enemy  were  driven  back  into  their  entrenched  position 
along  the  White  Oak  road.  Then  the  rebel  infantry 
moved  westward  along  the  road  to  Five  Forks,  and 
attacked  Devin,  who,  earlier  in  the  day,  had  advanced 
to  Five  Forks  and  carried  that  position.  Devin  was 
driven  out  in  disorder  and  forced  back,  and  after  some 


BEFORE    PETERSBURG— FIVE    FORKS.  107 

difficulty  rejoined  Crook's  division  at  Dinwiddie  C. 
H.  The  confederates  now  assailed  Sheridan  with  a 
superior  force,  but  could  make  no  headway,  and 
during  the  night  they  withdrew. 

Meantime  Custer,  and  Gen.  McKenzie  with  1,000 
additional  cavalry,  had  joined  Sheridan,  and  Warren 
was  within  supporting  distance.  At  daybreak  the 
cavalry  advanced  steadily  on  the  enemy,  and  by  noon 
had  driven  them  behind  their  works  at  Five  Forks, 
and  were  menacing  their  front.  Warren  was  now 
ordered  forward,  and  after  more  delay  than  Sheridan 
deemed  necessary,  he  reached  his  assigned  position  and 
charged  furiously  westward  on  the  enemy's  left  flank. 
Custer  and  Devin  at  the  same  time  charged  their  right 
flank  and  front.  Thus  assailed  by  double  their  num- 
bers the  rebel  infantry  fought  on  with  great  gallantry 
and  fortitude ;  but  at  length  their  flank  defenses  were 
carried  by  Warren's  troops,  and  simultaneously  the 
cavalry  swept  over  their  works.  A  large  portion  of 
the  enemy  surrendered,  and  the  balance  fled  westward, 
pursued  by  Custer  and  McKenzie;  5,000  prisoners 
were  taken. 

The  next  morning,  Sunday,  April  2nd,  at  daybreak, 
a  general  assault  was  made  by  Grant's  army  upon  the 
defences  of  Petersburg,  and  some  of  them  were  carried. 
Lee  telegraphed  to  Davis  that  Richmond  must  be 
evacuated ;  and  by  night  the  Confederate  rule  in  that 
city  was  ended,  and  Davis  and  his  Government  on  the 
way  by  railroad  to  Danville.  Lee's  troops  withdrew 
from  Richmond  and  Petersburg  the  same  night,  and 
marched  rapidly  westward  to  Amelia  C.  H.  on  the 
Danville  railroad,  where  they  halted,  April  4th  and 
5th,  to  gather  supplies  of  food  from  the  country. 

Meantime,    the    Union   army   was  pursuing    the 


108  LEFE    OF    GENERAL    CUSTER. 

retreating  Confederates  and  making  every  effort  to 
prevent  their  escape.  Custer  and  Devin  moved  south- 
westerly toward  Burkesville  destroying  the  railroad, 
and  then  joined  Crook,  McKenzie,  and  the  5th  Corps 
at  Jetersville  five  miles  west  of  Amelia  C.  H.  Sher- 
idan intrenched  his  infantry  across  the  railroad,  sup- 
ported them  by  his  cavalry,  and  felt  prepared  to  stop 
the  passage  of  Lee's  whole  army.  Lee,  however,  find- 
ing his  way  to  Danville  thus  blocked,  moved  north- 
erly around  Sheridan's  left,  and  thence  westerly 
toward  Farmville  on  the  Appomattox  River.  Gen. 
Davies,  of  Crook's  division,  made  a  reconnoisance 
and  struck  Lee's  train  moving  ahead  of  his  troops, 
destroying  wagons,  and  taking  prisoners.  A  fight 
followed,  and  Davies  fell  back  to  Jetersville  where 
nearly  the  whole  army  was  then  concentrated. 

On  the  morning  of  the  6th,  Crook,  Custer,  and 
Devin  started  out  in  pursuit.  Crook,  who  was  in 
advance,  was  ordered  to  attack  the  trains,  and  if  the 
enemy  was  too  strong,  another  division  was  to  pass 
him,  while  he  held  fast  and  pressed  the  enemy,  and 
attack  at  a  point  further  on — thus  alternating  until 
some  vulnerable  point  was  found.  Crook  came  upon 
Lee's  columns  near  Deatonsville,  and  charged  upon 
them,  determined  to  detain  them  at  any  cost.  Crook 
was  finally  repulsed,  but  his  action  gave  Custer  time 
to  push  ahead,  and  strike  further  on  at  Sailor's  Creek. 
Crook  and  Devin  came  promptly  to  Custer's  support, 
and  he  pierced  the  line  of  march,  destroyed  400 
wagons,  and  took  many  prisoners.  Elwell's  division 
was  separated  from  Lee,  who  was  further  ahead,  and 
being  enclosed  between  the  cavalry  in  front  and  the 
infantry  on  their  rear,  the  troops  threw  down  their 
arms  and  surrendered. 


SAILOR'S    CREEK    AND    APPOMATTOX.  109 

That  evening  Lee  crossed  the  Appomattox  at  Farni- 
ville,  and  tried  to  burn  the  bridges  behind  him,  but 
troops  arrived  in  season  to  save  one  of  them.  Lee 
halted  five  miles  beyond  Farmville,  intrenched  him- 
self, and  repulsed  an  attack  from  the  infantry.  At 
night  he  silently  resumed  his  retreat. 

On  the  morning  of  the  7th,  Custer  and  Devin, 
under  Merritt,  were  sent  on  a  detour  to  the  left,  to 
cut  off  retreat  toward  Danville  should  it  be  attempted ; 
while  Crook  forded  the  Appomattox  and  attacked  a 
train.  On  the  8th,  Sheridan  concentrated  the  cavalry 
at  Prospect  Station,  and  sent  Merritt,  Custer,  and 
Devin  swiftly  ahead  28  miles  to  Appomattox  Station, 
where,  he  had  learned  from  scouts,  were  four  trains 
loaded  with  supplies  for  Lee,  just  arrived  from 
Lynchburg. 

Gen.  Custer  took  the  lead,  and  on  reaching  the 
railroad  station  he  skillfully  surrounded  and  captured 
the  trains.  Then,  followed  by  Devin,  he  hurried  on 
five  miles  further  to  Appomattox  C.  H.,  where  he 
confronted  the  van  of  Lee's  army,  immediately  at- 
tacked it,  and  by  night  had  turned  it  back  on  the 
main  column,  and  captured  prisoners,  wagons,  guns, 
and  a  hospital  train.  The  balance  of  the  cavalry 
hurried  up,  and  a  position  was  taken  directly  across 
the  road,  in  front  of  Lee's  army. 

By  a  forced  march  the  infantry  under  Griffin  and 
Ord,  supporting  the  cavalry,  reached  the  rear  of 
Sheridan's  position  by  daybreak  the  next  morning. 
Grant  and  Mead  were  pressing  closely  on  Lee's  rear, 
and  Lee  saw  there  was  no  escape  for  him  unless 
he  could  break  through  the  cavalry  force  which  he 
supposed  alone  disputed  his  passage.  He  therefore 
ordered  his  infantry  to  advance.     The  result  of  this 


HO  LIFE    OF    GENERAL    CUSTER. 

charge,  the  last  one  made  by  the  Army  of  Virginia, 
is  thus  described  in  Greeley's  "American  Conflict "  : — 
"  By  Sheridan's  orders,  his  troopers,  who  were  in  line  of  battle 
dismounted,  gave  ground  gradually,  while  showing  a  steady 
front,  so  as  to  allow  our  weary  infantry  time  to  form  and  take 
position.  This  effected,  the  horsemen  moved  swiftly  to  the  right, 
and  mounted,  revealing  lines  of  solid  infantry  in  battle  array, 
before  whose  wall  of  gleaming  bayonets  the  astonished  enemy 
recoiled  in  blank  despair,  as  Sheridan  and  his  troopers,  passing 
briskly  around  the  rebel  left,  prepared  to  charge  the  confused, 
reeling  masses.  A  white  flag  was  now  waved  by  the  enenry 
before  Gen.  Custer,  who  held  our  cavalry  advance,  with  the  in- 
formation that  they  had  concluded  to  surrender." 

The  next  day,  April  9th,  Gen.  Custer,  who  had 

been   brevetted   Major-General    after  the  battle   of* 

Cedar   Creek,   issued   the   following    complimentary 

order  to  his  troops: — 

Head-Quarters  Third  Cavalry  Division.  ) 
Appomattox  Court  House,  Va.,  April  9,  1865.  ) 

SOLDIERS  OF  THE  THIRD  CAVALRY  DIVISION  :— 

With  profound  gratitude  toward  the  God  of  battles,  by  whose 
blessings  our  enemies  have  been  humbled  and  our  arms  rendered 
triumphant,  your  Commanding  General  avails  himself  of  this  his 
first  opportunity  to  express  to  you  his  admiration  of  the  heroic 
manner  in  which  you  have  passed  through  the  series  of  battles 
which  to-day  resulted  in  the  surrender  of  the  enemy's  entire  army. 

The  record  established  by  your  indomitable  courage  is  unpar- 
alleled in  the  annals  of  war.  Your  prowess  has  won  for  3-011  even 
the  respect  and  admiration  of  your  enemies.  During  the  past 
six  months,  although  in  most  instances  confronted  by  superior 
numbers,  you  have  captured  from  the  enemy,  in  open  battle,  111 
pieces  of  field  artillery,  65  battle-flags,  and  upward  of  10,000 
prisoners  of  war  including  seven  general  officers.  Within  the 
last  ten  clays,  and  included  in  the  above,  you  have  captured  46 
field-pieces  of  artillery  and  37  battle-flags.  You  have  never  lost 
a  gun,  never  lost  a  color,  and  have  never  been  defeated  ;  and  not- 
withstanding the  numerous  engagements  in  which  3-011  have  borne 
a  prominent  part,  including  those  memorable  battles  of  the 
Shenandoah,  you  have  captured  every  piece  of  artillery  which  the 


A  FLAG  OF  TRUCE— THE  GREAT  PARADE.     HI 

enemy  has  dared  to  open  upon  you.  The  near  approach  of  peace 
renders  it  improbable  that  you  will  again  be  called  upon  to  un- 
dergo the  fatigues  of  the  toilsome  march,  or  the  exposure  of  the 
battle-field  ;  but  should  the  assistance  of  keen  blades  wielded  by 
your  sturdy  arms  be  required  to  hasten  the  coming  of  that 
glorious  peace  for  which  we  have  been  so  long  contending,  the 
General  Commanding  is  firmly  confident  that,  in  the  future  as  in 
the  past,  evety  demand  will  meet  a  hearty  and  willing  response. 

Let  us  hope  that  our  work  is  done,  and  that  blessed  with  the 
comforts  of  peace,  we  may  be  permitted  to  enjoy  the  pleasures 
of  home  and  friends.  For  our  comrades  who  have  fallen,  let  us 
ever  cherish  a  grateful  remembrance.  To  the  wounded  and  to 
those  who  languish  in  Southern  prisons,  let  our  heartfelt  sym- 
pathy be  tendered. 

And  now,  speaking  for  myself  alone,  when  the  war  is  ended 
and  the  task  of  the  historian  begins  ;  when  those  deeds  of  daring 
Vhich  have  rendered  the  name  and  fame  of  the  Third  Cavalry 
Division  imperishable  are  inscribed  upon  the  bright  pages  of 
our  country's  history,  I  only  ask  that  my  name  may  be  written  as 
that  of  the  Commander  of  the  Third  Cavahy  Division. 

Lee's  flag  of  truce  at  Appomattox — a  white  towel 
— and  also  the  table  on  which  Grant  and  Lee  signed 
the  capitulation  agreement,  were  presented  to  Mrs. 
Custer  by  Gen.  Sheridan,  and  are  now  in  her  posses- 
sion. In  a  letter  accompanying  them  Sheridan  wrote, 
that  he  "knew  of  no  person  more  instrumental  in 
bringing  about  this  most  desired  event  than  her  own 
most  gallant  husband." 

In  the  great  parade  of  the  Army  of  the  Potomac  at 
Washington  in  May  1865,  Sheridan's  cavalry  were  at 
at  the  head  of  the  column ;  and  the  Third  Division, 
first  in  peace  as  it  had  been  first  in  war,  led  the  ad- 
vance. Custer,  now  a  Major-General  of  volunteers,  at 
the  age  of  26  years,  rode  proudly  at- the  head  of  his 
troopers,  a  prominent  figure  in  the  stirring  pageant, 
and  the  observed  of  all  beholders.  He  had  put  off 
for  the  occasion  his  careless  dashing  style  of  dress, 


112 


LIFE    OF    GENERAL    CUSTER. 


and  wore,  with  becoming  dignity,  the  full  regulation 
uniform  of  a  Major-General. 

Shortly  after  the  parade,  Custer  was  sent  to  Texas, 
where  he  had  command  of  a  cavalry  division  at 
Austin,  but  no  active  service  became  necessary.  In 
March,  1866,  he  was  mustered  out  of  service  as  a 
Major-General,  and  took  rank  as  a  Captain,  assigned 
to  the  5th  Cavalry,  U.  S.  A.  Soon  afterward,  he 
applied  to  Senor  Romero,  Minister  from  Mexico,  for 
a  position  as  chief  of  President  Juarez's  cavalry,  in 
his  struggle  with  Maximilian.  He  presented  a  letter 
of  introduction  from  General  Grant  in  which  he  was 
spoken  of  in  the  most  complimentary  terms.  Romero 
was  anxious  to  secure  his  services,  and  made  him ' 
liberal  offers ;  but  as  Custer  could  not  obtain  leave 
of  absence  from  his  Government,  the  contemplated 
arrangement  was  not  completed. 


CHAPTER    XVI. 

a  biographical  sketch  of  major-general  custer, 
(continued.) 

In  July,  1866,  Custer  received  from  Andrew  John- 
son, a  commission  as  Lieut.  Col.  of  the  7th  Cavalry — a 
new  regiment ;  and  after  accompanying  the  President 
on  his  famous  tour  through  the  country,  he  proceeded 
to  Fort  Riley,  Kansas. 

In  the  spring  of  1867,  an  expedition  under  Gen. 
Hancock  marched  from  Fort  Riley  to  Fort  Larned 
near  the  Arkansas  River,  and  the  7th  Cavalry,  under 
Lieut.  Col.  Custer,  accompanied  it.  The  dissatisfied 
Indians  had  been  invited  by  the  Indian  agent  to 
meet  Hancock  in  council  at  Fort  Larned,  and  had 
agreed  to  do  so ;  but  as  they  failed  to  appear  at  the 
appointed  time,  Hancock  started  for  a  village  of 
Sioux  and  Cheyenne  Indians,  distant  some  30  miles 
from  the  fort.  On  the  way  he  met  several  of  the 
chiefs,  and  they  agreed  to  hold  a  council  at  Hancock's 
camp  on  the  next  day,  April  14th.  As  none  of  the 
chiefs  came,  as  promised,  Hancock  again  started  for 
their  village,  and  soon  came  upon  several  hundred 
Indians  drawn  up  in  battle  array  directly  across  his 
path.  The  troops  were  immediately  formed  in  line 
of  battle,  and  then  the  General,  with  some  of  his 
officers  and  the  interpreter,  rode  forward  and  invited 


114  LIFE    OF    GENERAL    CUSTER. 

the  chiefs  to  a  meeting  between  the  lines,  which  were 
half  a  mile  apart.  The  invitation  was  accepted; 
several  chiefs  advanced  to  the  officers,  and  a  friendly 
interview  was  holden — all  seeming  pleased  at  the 
peaceful  turn  things  had  taken.  The  result  of  the 
"  talk  "  was  an  arrangement  for  a  council  to  be  held 
at  Hancock's  headquarters  after  he  had  camped  near 
the  Indian  village,  toward  which  both  parties  then 
proceeded.  It  was  ascertained  on  reaching  it  that  the 
women  and  children  had  been  sent  away ;  and  during 
the  night  the  warriors,  unobserved  by  the  white  men, 
also  fled,  leaving  their  lodges  and  stores. 

Mistrusting  something  of  the  kind,  Custer,  with  the 
cavalry,  had  during  the  night  stealthily  surrounded 
the  village,  and  on  entering  it  later  found  it  deserted. 
Pursuit  of  the  Indians  was  commenced,  but  their  trail 
soon  scattered  so  it  could  not  be  followed.  After 
burning  the  deserted  village,  the  expedition  returned 
to  Fort  Hayes,  where  the  7th  Cavalry  wintered. 

The  next  summer,  Custer  with  several  companies 
of  his  regiment  and  20  wagons,  was  sent  on  a  long 
scouting  expedition  to  the  southward  in  search  of 
Indians.  Leaving  Fort  Hayes  in  June,  he  proceeded 
to  Fort  McPherson  on  the  Platte  River,  and  thence  to 
the  forks  of  the  Republican  River  in  the  Indian 
country.  From  this  place  he  sent  Major  J.  A.  Elliott, 
on  the  23d  of  June,  with  ten  men  and  one  guide,  to 
carry  despatches  to  Gen.  Sherman  at  Fort  Sedgwick, 
100  miles  distant.  The  wagons,  escorted  by  cavalry, 
were  also  started  the  same  day  to  procure  supplies 
from  Fort  Wallace,  about  the  same  distance  away  in 
an  opposite  direction. 

Early  the  next  morning,  an  attack  was  made  on 
the  camp,  but  the  soldiers  rallied  so  promptly  and 


ADVENTURES    OF    A    SCOUTING    EXPEDITION.  115 

effectively  that  the  Indians  soon  withdrew.  Interpret- 
ers were  then  sent  toward  them,  who  arranged  for  a 
council  which  was  held  near  by.  After  an  unsatis- 
factory interview,  Custer  returned  to  his  camp  and 
started  in  pursuit  of  the  Indians,  but  was  unable  to 
overtake  them. 

On  the  fifth  day  after  his  departure,  Major  Elliott 
returned  in  safet}^  to  the  camp.  He  had  traveled 
only  by  night,  and  had  seen  no  Indians.  The  wagon 
train  was  not  so  fortunate.  It  reached  Fort  Wallace 
safely,  and  started  to  return  escorted  by  48  troopers. 
On  the  way  it  was  attacked  by  a  large  number  of 
Indians,  who  for  three  hours  kept  up  a  running  fight 
around  the  circle.  The  wagons  moved  forward  in 
two  strings,  with  the  cavalry  horses  between  them 
for  safety,  and  the  dismounted  soldiers  defended 
them  so  successfully  that  their  progress  forward  was 
uninterrupted.  Meanwhile  Custer,  fearing  for  the 
safety  of  the  train,  had  sent  out  cavalry  to  meet  it ; 
and  their  approach  caused  the  Indians  to  cease  from 
their  attack  and  withdraw.  The  balance  of  the 
journey  was  safely  accomplished. 

Resuming  his  march,  Custer  again  struck  the  Platte, 
some  distance  west  of  Fort  Sedgwick.  Here  he 
learned  by  telegraph  that  Lieut.  Kidder  with  ten  men 
and  an  Indian  scout  had  started  from  Fort  Sedgwick, 
with  despatches  for  Custer  directing  him  to  proceed 
to  Fort  Wallace,  shortly  after  Major  Elliott  had  left 
the  fort.  As  Kidder  had  not  returned  and  Custer 
had  not  seen  him,  fears  for  his  safety  were  entertained, 
and  Custer  immediately  started  for  his  late  camp  at 
the  forks  of  the  Republican.  On  the  way  thither 
some  of  his  men  deserted,  and  being  followed  and 


116  LIFE    OF    GENERAL    CUSTER. 

refusing  to  surrender,  were  fired  upon,  and  three  were 
wounded. 

On  reaching  the  camp,  an  examination  was  made  by 
the  Indian  guide,  and  it  was  ascertained  that  Kidder's 
party  had  arrived  there  in  safety,  and  continued  on 
towards  Fort  Wallace,  over  the  trail  made  by  the 
wagons.  In  the  morning  Custer  started  in  pursuit, 
and  by  noon  it  became  evident  by  the  tracks  of  their 
horses,  that  Kidder's  party  had  been  hard  chased  for 
several  miles.  Further  on  one  of  their  horses  was 
found,  shot  dead ;  and  at  last  the  mutilated  and 
arrow-pierced  bodies  of  the  12  men  were  found  lying 
near  each  other.  They  had  been  chased,  overtaken, 
and  killed  by  the  savages.  They  were  buried  in  one 
grave,  and  the  troops  proceeded  to  Fort  "Wallace. 

Custer  had  been  ordered  to  report  to  Gen.  Hancock 
at  Fort  Wallace,  and  receive  further  orders  from  him ; 
but  on  arriving  there  he  found  that  the  General  had 
retired  to  Fort  Leavenworth.  The  location  of  Fort 
Wallace  was  isolated  and  remote  from  railroads,  and 
as  the  stock  of  provisions  was  low,  Custer  decided  to 
go  for  supplies.  He  started  on  the  evening  of  July 
15th,  with  100  men,  and  arrived  at  Fort  Hayes  on  the 
morning  of  July  18th,  having  marched  150  miles, 
with  a  loss  of  two  men  who  had  been  surprised  by 
Indians.  He  then  proceeded  to  Fort  Harker,  60  miles 
further  on,  and  after  making  arrangements  for  the 
supplies,  obtained  from  Gen.  Smith  permission  to 
visit  his  wife,  who  was  at  Fort  Riley,  90  miles 
distant  by  rail. 

Soon  after  this  Custer  was  arraigned  before  a  court- 
martial,  charged  with  leaving  Fort  Wallace  without 
orders,  and  making  a  journey  on  private  business, 
during  which  two  soldiers  were  killed ;  also  for  over- 


BATTLE    OF    THE    WASHITA— BLACK    KETTLE.  H7 

tasking  his  men  on  the  march,  and  for  cruelty  while 
quelling  a  mutiny.  After  trial,  he  was  pronounced 
guilty  of  a  breach  of  discipline  in  making  a  journey 
on  private  business  (which  he  earnestly  denied)  and 
acquitted  of  the  other  charges.  His  sentence  was  a 
suspension  of  pay  and  rank  for  a  year,  during  which 
period  he  remained  in  private  life,  while  his  regiment 
was  engaged  in  an  expedition  under  Gren.  Sully. 

In  October,  1868,  Custer  was  recalled  into  service, 
and  joined  his  regiment  at  Fort  Dodge  on  the  Arkan- 
sas River.  Early  in  Nov.,  a  winter  campaign  against 
the  Indians  was  commenced.  Gen.  Sully,  with  the  7th 
Cavalry,  detachments  of  infantry,  and  a  large  supply 
train,  marched  to  the  borders  of  the  Indian  country 
and  established  a  post  called  Camp  Supply. 

On  the  23d  of  Nov.,  Custer  with  his  regiment  of 
about  800  men  started  out  in  a  snow  storm  on  a  scout 
for  the  enemy.  The  next  day  a  trail  was  discovered 
and  pursued,  and  at  night  the  troops  were  in  the 
valley  of  the  Washita  River,  and  near  an  Indian 
village  which  had  been  seen  from  a  distance.  The 
village  was  stealthily  surrounded,  and  at  daybreak  an 
attack  was  made  simultaneously  by  several  detach- 
ments. 

The  Indians  were  taken  entirely  by  surprise.  The 
warriors  fled  from  the  village,  but  took  shelter  behind 
trees,  logs,  and  the  bank  of  the  stream,  and  fought 
with  much  desperation  and  courage,  but  were  finally 
driven  off.  The  village  was  captured  with  its  con- 
tents, including  50  squaws  and  children  who  had  re- 
mained safely  in  the  lodges  during  the  fight.  Some 
800  ponies  were  also  captured.  On  questioning  the 
squaws,  one  of  them  said  that  she  was  a  sister  of  the 
Cheyenne  chief  Black  Kettle,  that  it  was  his  village 
35 


118  LIFE    OF    GENERAL    CUSTER. 

that  had  been  captured,  and  that  several  other  In- 
dian villages  were  located  within  ten  miles  —  the 
nearest  one  being  only  two  miles  distant. 

Before  Custer  had  time  to  retreat,  hostile  Indians — 
reinforcements  from  the  other  villages  —  arrived  in 
such  numbers  as  to  surround  the  captured  village, 
which  Custer  and  his  men  occupied ;  and  an  attack 
was  begun  which  continued  nearly  all  day.  The 
Indians  were  finally  driven  away.  The  village  and 
its  contents  were  burned.  '  The  captives  were  allowed 
to  select  ponies  to  ride  on,  and  the  balance  of  the 
drove  were  shot.  The  retreat  was  begun  by  a  march 
forward,  as  if  to  attack  the  next  village.  The  Indians 
fled;  and  after  dark  Custer  moved  rapidly  back 
toward  Supply  Camp,  taking  the  captives  along  as 
prisoners  of  war. 

In  this  engagement,  known  as  the  Battle  of  the 
Washita,  Major  Elliott,  Capt.  Hamilton,  and  19  pri- 
vates were  killed,  and  three  officers  and  11  privates 
wounded.  Captains  Weir,  Benteen,  T.  W.  Custer, 
and  Lieut.  Cook,  participated  in  this  fight.  It  was 
estimated  that  at  least  100  Indians  were  killed,  among 
whom  was  the  noted  chief  Black  Kettle. 

The  death  of  Black  Kettle  was  much  regretted  by 
many  white  people.  Gen.  Harney  said  respecting 
him : — "  I  have  worn  the  uniform  of  my  country  55 
years,  and  I  know  that  Black  Kettle  was  as  good  a 
friend  of  the  United  States  as  I  am."  Col.  A.  G.  Boone, 
a  member  of  the  recent  Indian  Commission,  who  had 
known  Black  Kettle  for  years,  said  tearfully : — "  He 
was  a  good  man;  he  was  my  friend;  he  was  mur- 
dered." 

Early  in  Dec,  the  7th  Cavalry  and  a  Kansas  cavalry 
regiment,  accompanied  by  Gen.   Sheridan  and  staff, 


MARCH   TO    FORT    COBB-LONE    WOLF   AND   SATANTA.  119 

again  started  out  to  look  for  Indians.  The  recent 
battle-ground  was  revisited,  and  then  the  force  pro- 
ceeded along  the  valley  of  the  Washita,  finding  the 
sites  of  several  villages  which  appeared  to  have  been 
lately  and  hastily  removed.  Large  numbers  of  lodge 
poles,  and  robes,  utensils,  and  stores  were  left  behind ; 
and  a  broad  trail,  leading  down  the  river  toward  Fort 
Cobb,  100  miles  distant,  showed  the  direction  their 
owners  had  taken  when  frightened  away  from  their 
winter  retreat.  A  pursuit  of  the  trail  was  commenced, 
but  it  soon  branched.  The  troops  continued  on,  and 
when  within  20  miles  of  Fort  Cobb,  Indians  appeared 
in  front  with  a  flag  of  truce.  They  proved  to  be 
Kiowas  led  by  Lone  Wolf,  Satanta,  and  other  chiefs. 

A  council  was  held,  and  both  parties  agreed  to  pro- 
ceed together  to  Fort  Cobb ;  and  the  Indians  agreed 
that  they  would  then  remain  on  their  reservation. 
On  the  way  to  the  fort,  many  of  the  Indians  slipped 
away,  and  as  Custer  then  supposed  (erroneously)  that 
Lone  Wolf  and  Satanta  had  been  engaged  in  the  recent 
battle  and  might  also  escape,  he  placed  them  under 
guard  and  took  them  to  Fort  Cobb,  where  they  were 
held  as  hostages  for  the  return  of  the  roaming  Kiowas, 
who  finally  came  in  on  learning  that  Sheridan  had 
determined  to  hang  their  chiefs  if  they  failed  to  do  so. 

Soon  after  this,  Little  Robe — a  Cheyenne  chief,  and 
Yellow  Bear — a  friendly  Arapahoe,  were  visiting  at 
Fort  Cobb,  and  at  Custer's  suggestion  Sheridan  per- 
mitted him  with  a  small  party  to  go  with  these  chiefs 
as  a  peace  embassador.  The  mission  was  successful 
as  far  as  the  Arapahoes  were  concerned,  and  as  its 
result  the  whole  tribe  returned  to  their  reservation. 

The  effort  to  arrange  with  the  Cheyennes  proving 
unavailing,  Custer  with  800  men  started,  March,  1869, 


120 


LIFE    OF    GENERAL    CUSTER. 


in  pursuit  of  them.  On  the  13th  of  March  he  arrived 
in  the  vicinity  of  several  Cheyenne  villages,  one  of 
which  belonged  to  Little  Robe.  Several  councils  were 
held  with  the  chiefs ;  and  it  was  ascertained  that  two 
white  women  who  had  been  recently  captured  in 
Kansas  were  held  as  captives  in  one  of  the  villages. 
For  this  reason  Custer  could  not  attack  the  Indians, 
who  were  still  intractable,  and  had  to  continue  ne- 
gotiations with  them.  They  refused  to  release  the 
women  unless  a  large  ransom  was  paid. 

Custer  subsequently  seized  four  of  the  chiefs,  and 
threatened  to  hang  them  if  the  white  women  were 
not  given  up  unconditionally.  This  threat  produced 
the  desired  effect,  and  the  women  were  surrendered. 
Custer  then  marched  to  the  supply  camp,  taking  with 
him  the  captured  chiefs,  who  begged  for  freedom  as 
the  white  women  had  been  given  up.  Their  friends 
also  entreated  for  their  release ;  but  Custer  assured 
them  that  the  Washita  prisoners  and  the  captive 
chiefs  would  not  be  liberated  until  the  Cheyennes  re- 
turned to  their  reservation.  This  they  promised  to 
do,  and  subsequently  kept  their  word. 


CHAPTER    XVII. 

a  biographical  sketch  of  major-general  custer, 
(continued.) 

A  treaty  Laving  been  made  with  the  Indians  and 
peace  restored,  the  7th  Cavalry  enjoyed  a  long  season 
of  rest.  In  the  autumn  of  1870,  it  was  broken  into  de- 
tachments and  distributed  to  different  posts.  Custer, 
with  two  companies,  was  assigned  to  a  post  at  Eliza- 
bethtown,  Ky.,  40  miles  from  Louisville,  and  in  this 
isolated  place  he  remained  two  years.  During  this 
period  of  inaction  he  engaged  in  literary  pursuits  and 
wrote  an  account  of  his  life  on  the  Plains.  He  also 
joined  in  a  buffalo-hunt  given  on  the  Plains  in  honor 
of  the  Russian  Grand  Duke  Alexis,  and  after  the 
hunt  he  and  Mrs.  Custer  accompanied  the  Duke  in 
his  travels  through  the  Southern  States. 

In  March,  1873,  the  7th  Cavalry  was  ordered  to 
Dakota,  and  in  May  was  encamped  at  Fort  Rice  far 
up  the  Missouri.  Here  also  were  assembled  other 
soldiers,  and  in  July  the  so-called  Yellowstone  Expe- 
dition, commanded  by  Gen.  D.  S.  Stanley,  started  out 
on  its  mission,  which  was  to  escort  and  protect  the 
engineers  and  surveyors  of  the  Northern  Pacific  Rail- 
road. The  march  was  westward  to  the  Yellowstone 
and  up  its  valley,  accompanied  part  of  the  way  by 
steamboats.    The  country  was  rough  and  broken,  and 


122  LIFE    OF    GENERAL    CUSTER. 

the  wagon  trains  were  got  forward  with  much  diffi- 
culty. It  was  Custer's  custom  to  go  ahead  every  day 
with  a  small  party  of  road-hunters,  to  pick  out  and 
prepare  the  most  suitable  road  for  the  train. 

On  the  4th  of  Aug.,  when  opposite  the  mouth  of 
Tongue  River,  as  Custer  and  his  advance  party  of 
about  100  men  were  enjoying  a  noon-day  siesta  in  a 
grove  on  the  bank  of  the  river,  they  were  aroused  by 
the  firing  of  the  pickets.  A  few  Indians  had  made  a 
dash  to  stampede  the  horses  which  were  grazing  near 
by,  and  failing  in  this,  were  riding  back  and  forth  as 
if  inviting  pursuit.  The  soldiers  speedily  mounted, 
and  Custer  with  20  men  followed  the  Indians,  who 
retreated  slowly,  keeping  out  of  the  reach  of  shot. 

After  going  nearly  two  miles  the  retreating  Indians 
faced  about  as  if  to  attack,  and  simultaneously,  300 
mounted  warriors  emerged  from  a  forest  and  dashed 
forward.  Custer's  men  immediately  dismounted,  and 
while  five  of  them  held  the  horses,  the  remainder, 
with  breech-loading  carbines,  awaited  the  enemy's 
charge.  Several  rapid  volleys  were  sufficient  to  re- 
pulse the  Indians,  and  cause  them  to  take  shelter 
in  the  woods  from  which  they  came. 

Just  then  the  remainder  of  Custer's  men  came  up, 
and  the  whole  force  retreated  to  the  resting  place 
they  had  so  lately  vacated.  The  horses  were  shel- 
tered in  the  timber,  and  the  men  took  advantage  of  a 
natural  terrace,  using  it  as  a  breastwork.  The  Indians 
had  followed  them  closely,  and  now  made  persistent 
but  unsuccessful  attempts  to  drive  them  from  their 
position.  Being  defeated  in  this,  they  next  tried  to 
burn  them  out  by  setting  fire  to  the  grass.  After 
continuing  their  assault  for  several  hours,  the  Indians 
withdrew  at  the  approach  of  the  main  column,  and 


• 


THE  "REVENGE  OF  RAIN  IN  THE  FACE."     123 

Custer  and  the  fresh  troops  chased  them  several  miles. 

The  same  day,  two  elderly  civilians  connected  with 
the  expedition  were  murdered  while  riding  in  advance 
of  the  main  column.  Nearly  two  years  later,  Charles 
Reynolds,  a  scout  subsequently  killed  at  the  battle 
of  the  Little  Big  Horn,  while  at  Standing  Rock 
Agency,  heard  an  Indian  who  was  "counting  his 
coups"  or  in  other  words  rehearsing  his  great  achieve- 
ments, boast  of  killing  two  white  men  on  the  Yellow- 
stone. From  his  description  of  the  victims  and  the 
articles  he  exhibited,  Reynolds  knew  that  he  was  the 
murderer  of  the  two  men. 

The  name  of  this  Indian  was  Rain  in  the  Face. 
He  was  subsequently  arrested  by  Captains  Yates  and 
Custer,  and  taken  to  Fort  Lincoln  where  he  was  in- 
terviewed by  Gen.  Custer  and  finally  confessed  the 
deed.  He  was  kept  a  close  prisoner  in  the  guard- 
house for  several  months,  but  managed  to  escape,  and 
joined  Sitting  Bull's  band.  It  is  thought  by  some  that 
he  was  the  identical  Indian  who  killed  Gen.  Custer, 
and  that  he  did  it  by  way  of  revenge  for  his  long  im- 
prisonment. There  seems  to  be  no  real  foundation 
for  this  theory;  but  the  "Revenge  of  Rain  in  the 
Face  "  will  probably  go  down  to  posterity  as  an  his- 
torical truth,  as  it  has  already  been  immortalized  in 
verse  by  one  of  our  most  gifted  poets,  who  seems,  how- 
ever, to  have  overlooked  the  fact  that  Gen.  Custer's 
body  was  not  mutilated. 

A  week  after  the  affair  on  the  Yellowstone  a  large 
Indian  trail  was  discovered  leading  up  the  river,  and 
Custer  was  sent  in  pursuit.  On  arriving  near  the 
mouth  of  Big  Horn  River,  it  was  discovered  that  the 
enemy  had  crossed  the  Yellowstone  in  "  bull  boats." 
As  Custer  had  no  means  of  getting  across,  he  camped 


124  LITE    OF    GENERAL    CUSTER. 

for  the  night.  Early  the  next  morning  he  was  at- 
tacked by  several  hundred  warriors,  some  of  whom 
had  doubtless  recrossed  the  river  for  that  purpose. 
Sitting  Bull  was  commander  of  the  Indians,  and  large 
numbers  of  old  men,  squaws,  and  children  were 
assembled  on  the  high  bluffs  and  mounds  along  the 
river  to  witness  the  fight.  After  considerable  skir- 
mishing Custer  ordered  his  troops  to  charge,  and  as 
they  advanced  the  Indians  fled,  and  were  pursued 
some  distance. 

In  these  two  engagements  our  loss  was  four  men 
killed,  and  two  were  wounded.  Custer's  horse  was 
shot  under  him.  There  was  do  further  trouble  with 
the  Indians,  and  the  expedition  returned  to  Fort  Rice 
about  the  1st  of  October.  Later  in  the  autumn,  Gen. 
Custer  was  assigned  to  the  command  of  Fort  Lincoln, 
on  the  Missouri  River,  opposite  the  town  of  Bismark. 

In  the  summer  of  1874,  a  military  expedition  to  ex- 
plore the  Black  Hills  was  decided  on,  and  Gen.  Custer 
was  selected  to  command  it.  The  column  of  1,200 
troops,  escorting  a  corps  of  scientists,  etc.,  started  from 
Fort  Lincoln,  July  1st,  moved  southwesterly  about 
250  miles  to  the  Black  Hills,  and  then  explored  the 
region.  No  trouble  was  experienced  with  Indians, 
and  the  expedition  returned  to  Fort  Lincoln  in  Sep- 
tember. 

Mrs.  Custer  had  accompanied  her  husband  to  the 
Plains  when  he  first  went  thither,  and  excepting  when 
he  was  engaged  iu  some  active  campaign  or  both  were 
East,  she  shared  with  him  the  hardships,  privations, 
and  pleasures  of  frontier  life.  Mrs.  Champney, 
speaking  of  her  in  the  Independent,  says: — "She 
followed  the  general  through  all  his  campaigns,  her 
constant  aim  being  to  make   life  pleasant   for  her 


MRS.    CUSTER. 


125 


husband  and  for  his  command.  General  Custer's 
officers  were  remarkably  attached  to  him ;  to  a  man 
they  revered  and  admired  his  wife.  She  was  with 
him  not  only  in  the  idleness  of  summer  camp-life, 
when  the  days  passed  in  a  dolcefar  niente  resembling 
a-  holiday  picnic ;  but  in  ruder  and  more  dangerous 
enterprises  she  was,  as  far  as  he  would  permit,  his  con- 
stant companion." 

When  Gen.  Custer  was  ordered  to  Fort  Lincoln 
Mrs.  Custer  went  there  with  him ;  that  retired  post 
was  their  home  for  the  remainder  of  his  life,  and  when 
he  started  out  on  his  last  campaign  she  parted  with 
him  there. 


CHAPTER    XVIII. 

a  biographical  sketch  of  major-general  custer, 
(continued.) 

When  a  campaign  against  the  roaming  hostile 
Indians  was  decided  on  in  1876,  Lieut.  Col.  Custer 
was  naturally  selected  as  the  leader  of  the  Dakota 
column,  which  was  organized  at  Fort  Lincoln,  and 
mainly  composed  of  his  regiment. 

About  this  time  a  Congressional  committe  at 
Washington  were  investigating  the  charges  against 
Gen.  Belknap,  who  had  recently  resigned  the  office  of 
Secretary  of  War.  Many  persons  were  called  to  tes- 
tify; and  while  Custer  was  actively  engaged  in 
organizing  the  Sioux  expedition,  he  received  a  tele- 
graphic summons  to  appear  before  the  committee. 

On  the  receipt  of  the  summons,  Custer  telegraphed 
to  Gen.  Terry,  the  Department  Commander,  informing 
him  of  the  fact,  stating  that  what  he  knew  as  to  any 
charges  against  the  War  Department  was  only  from 
hearsay  evidence,  and  asking  his  advice  as  to  what  he 
had  better  do.  Terry,  who  was  a  lawyer  as  well  as  a 
soldier,  in  reply  informed  Custer  that  his  services 
were  indispensable,  and  that  he  feared  it  would  delay 
the  expedition  if  he  had  to  go  to  Washington.  He 
suggested  that  if  Custer  knew  nothing  of  the  matter, 
he  might  perhaps  get  excused  from  going  there. 


BEFORE    THE    CONGRESSIONAL    COMMITTEE.  127 

After  hearing  from  Terry,  Custer  telegraphed  to  the 
chairman  of  the  committee  as  follows ; — 

"  While  I  hold  myself  in  readiness  to  obey  the  summons  of 
your  committee,  I  telegraph  to  state  that  I  am  engaged  upon  an 
important  expedition,  intended  to  operate  against  the  hostile 
Indians,  and  I  expect  to  take  the  field  early  in  April.  My 
presence  here  is  very  necessaiy.  In  view  of  this,  would  it  not 
be  satisfactory  for  you  to  forward  to  me  such  questions  as  may 
be  necessary,  allowing  me  to  return  my  replies  by  mail." 

As  the  committee  would  not  consent  to  the  plan 
proposed,  Custer  went  to  Washington,  and  was  de- 
tained there  on  this  business  about  one  month.  He 
was  severely  cross-examined,  but  the  result  showed  that 
he  knew  but  little  of  the  matter  in  controversy.  All 
he  could  say  of  his  own  knowledge  was,  that  a  con- 
tractor had  turned  over  to  him  at  Fort  Lincoln  a 
quantity  of  grain,  which  he  suspected  had  been 
stolen  from  the  Indian  Department,  as  the  sacks  bore 
the  Indian  brand.  He  had  at  first  refused  to  receive 
the  grain,  and  had  informed  the  Department  com- 
mander of  his  suspicions.  He  had  received  in  reply 
an  order  to  accept  the  grain ;  and  he  believed  that  the 
order  emanated  from  the  Secretary  of  War,  and  so- 
testified  before  the  committee.  On  returning  west, 
he  learned  from  Gen.  Terry  that  he  alone  was  respon- 
sible for  the  order  to  receive  the  grain ;  and  there- 
upon, Custer  telegraphed  the  fact  to  Mr.  Clymer,  and 
added : — "  As  I  would  not  knowingly  do  injustice  to 
any  individual,  I  ask  that  this  telegram  may  be  ap- 
pended to  and  made  part  of  my  testimony  before 
your  committee." 

On  being  discharged  by  the  committee,  Custer,  for 
the  third  time  it  is  said,  called  at  the  White  House, 
hoping  to  remove  the  wrong  impression  and  misunder- 
standing as  to  his  action  before  the  committee  which, 


128  LIFE    OF    GENERAL    CUSTER. 

he  had  learned  from  private  sources,  the  President 
had  received  and  still  entertained.  He  did  not  how- 
ever succeed  in  getting  an  interview,  and  it  is  said 
that  Gen.  Grant  even  refused  to  see  him. 

Leaving  the  White  House,  Custer  proceeded  to  the 
office  of  Gen.  Sherman,  and  learned  that  the  General 
had  gone  to  New  York,  but  was  expected  back  that 
evening.  Custer  then  took  the  train  for  Chicago,  and 
on  arriving  there  was  halted  by  Gen.  Sheridan  who 
had  received  from  Gen.  Sherman  a  telegram  dated 
May  2nd,  as  follows : — 

"  I  am  this  moment  advised  that  General  Custer  started  last 
night  for  Saint  Paul  and  Fort  Abraham  Lincoln.  He  was  not 
justified  in  leaving  without  seeing  the  President  or  nryself. 
Please  intercept  him  at  Chicago  or  Saint  Paul,  and  order  him  to 
halt  and  await  further  orders.  Meanwhile  let  the  expedition 
from  Fort  Lincoln  proceed  without  him." 

Gen.  Custer  was  of  course  greatly  surprised  on 
learning  that  such  a  telegram  had  been  received,  and 
he  immediately  telegraphed  to  Gen.  Sherman  a  state, 
ment  of  the  circumstances  under  which  he  left  Wash- 
ington. He  reminded  the  General  that  at  their  last 
interview  he  had  stated  that  he  would  start  west  May 
1st,  and  had  been  told  in  reply  that  it  was  the  best 
thing  he  could  do ;  he  said  further  that  he  had  every 
reason  to  believe,  that  in  leaving  Washington  when 
he  did  he  was  acting  in  accordance  with  the  General's 
advice  and  wishes ;  and  in  conclusion,  he  reminded 
the  General  of  his  promise  that  he  should  go  in  com- 
mand of  his  regiment,  and  asked  that  justice  might  be 
done  him.  Receiving  no  answer  to  this  message,  he 
again  telegraphed  to  Sherman  asking  as  a  favor  that 
he  might  proceed  to  Fort  Lincoln  where  his  family 
was.     In  reply,  Sherman  telegraphed  as  follows : — 


CUSTER'S  APPEAL  TO  THE  PRESIDENT.      129 

"Before  receipt  of  yours,  I  had  sent  orders  to  Gen.  Sheridan, 
to  permit  you  to  go  to  Fort  Lincoln  on  duty,  but  the  President 
adheres  to  his  conclusion  that  you  are  not  to  go  on  the  expedition." 

Sherman's  orders  to  Sheridan  were  as  follows : — 
"  I  have  received  your  despatch  of  to-day,  announcing  Gen. 
Custer's  arrival.  Have  just  come  from  the  President,  who  orders 
that  Gen.  Custer  be  allowed  to  rejoin  his  post,  to  remain  there  on 
duty,  but  not  to  accompany  the  expedition  supposed  to  be  on  the 
point  of  starting  against  the  hostile  Indians,  under  Gen.  Terry." 

General  Custer  accordingly  started  for  Fort  Lincoln, 
and  on  arriving  at  Saint  Paul,  May  6th,  he  addressed 
the  following  letter  to  President  Grant : — 

"  To  His  Excellency  the  President,  through  Military  Channels : 
I  have  seen  your  order  transmitted  through  the  General  of 
the  army,  directing  that  I  be  not  permitted  to  accompany  the 
expedition  about  to  move  against  hostile  Indians.  As  my  entire 
regiment  forms  a  part  of  the  proposed  expedition,  and  as  I  am 
the  senior  officer  of  the  regiment  on  duty  in  this  Department,  I 
respectfully  but  most  earnestly  request  that  while  not  allowed  to 
go  in  command  of  the  expedition,  I  may  be  permitted  to  serve 
with  my  regiment  in  the  field.  I  appeal  to  you  as  a  soldier  to 
spare  me  the  humiliation  of  seeing  my  regiment  march  to  meet 
the  enemy  and  I  not  to  share  its  dangers." 

This  appeal  to  the  President  was  forwarded  by  Gen. 
Terry  with  the  following  communication : — - 

"  In  forwarding  the  above,  I  wish  to  say  expressly,  that  I  have 
no  desire  to  question  the  orders  of  the  President,  or  of  my 
military  superiors.  Whether  Lieut.  Col.  Custer  shall  be  per- 
mitted to  accompany  my  column  or  not,  I  shall  go  in  command 
of  it.  I  do  not  know  the  reasons  upon  which  the  orders  already 
given  rest ;  but  if  those  reasons  do  not  forbid  it,  Lieut,  CoL 
Custer's  services  would  be  very  valuable  with  his  command." 

It  may  be  well  to  state  here  the  probable  causes 
of  the  unfriendly  feeling  which  Gen.  Grant  at  this 
period  manifested  toward  one  whom  he  had  "endorsed 
to  a  high  degree"  ten  years  previously.  The  Con- 
gressional committee    hitherto  mentioned,  had  been 


130  LIFE    OF    GENERAL    CUSTER. 

appointed  by  the  Opposition  members  of  the  House, 
and  some  of  its  proceedings  had,  doubtless,  annoyed 
and  vexed  the  President.  Gen.  Babcock  had  been 
on  his  staff  during  the  war,  and  enjoyed  his  friend- 
ship and  support  even  after  the  damaging  disclosures 
respecting  the  sale  of  the  post-tradership  at  a  western 
fort.  Attempts  had  also  been  made  about  this  time 
to  injure  Grant's  administration,  by  seeking  to  iden- 
tify it  with  the  frauds  which  had  been  discovered,  or 
which  were  suspected,  and  he  naturally  considered 
those  who  volunteered  information  to  the  committee 
as  unfriendly  to  himself. 

It  was  currently  reported  that  Custer  telegraphed 
to  the  committee's  chairman,  that  an  investigation 
into  the  post-traderships  upon  the  Upper  Missouri 
would  reveal  a  state  of  things  quite  as  bad  as  at 
Fort  Sill ;  and  that  in  consequence  of  this  communi- 
cation he  was  summoned  before  the  committee. 

But  whatever  the  causes  of  Gen.  Grant's  unfriend- 
liness, or  the  cruelty  charged  upon  him  for  showing 
his  displeasure  as  he  did,  the  result  of  Gen.  Custer's 
appeal  was  creditable  to  the  President.  Custer  re- 
sumed his  position  as  Terry's  trusted  coadjutor  in 
fitting  out  the  expedition,  and  finally  marched  from 
Fort  Lincoln  as  commander  of  his  regiment.  It  was 
no  disgrace  to  him  that  Terry  accompanied  the  col- 
umn, and  the  best  feeling  always  existed  between  the 
two  officers.  The  junction  with  the  Montana  troops 
was  contemplated  at  the  time,  and  their  commander, 
Col.  Gibbon,  would  have  ranked  Lieut.  Col.  Custer 
when  their  forces  united.  Some  commanding  general 
had  usually  accompanied  previous  expeditions  into 
the  Indian  country,  and  it  seems  probable  that  Gen. 
Terry  would  have  participated  in  the  campaign  under 


A    SUBJECT    OF    CONTROVERSY.  131 

any  circumstances.  Besides,  it  does  not  appear  from 
Custer's  despatch  to  Sheridan,  that  he  had  been  prom- 
ised more  than  the  command  of  his  regiment. 

The  history  of  the  campaign,  and  the  story  of  the 
disastrous  battle  in  which  Gen.  Custer  lost  his  life 
have  been  given  in  preceding  chapters.  His  action 
in  attacking  the  Indians  before  the  arrival  of  Gibbon's 
troops  has  been  the  subject  of  controversy,  and  by 
some  few  even  his  motives  have  been 'impugned.  The 
following  paragraphs  relative  thereto  are  from  the 
editorial  columns  of  the  Army  and  Navy  Journal: — 

"  It  was  not  in  Terry's  instructions,  and  it  clearly  was  not  in 
his  mind,  that  Custer,  if  he  came  '-in  contact  with  the  enemy," 
should  defer  fighting  him  until  the  infantry  came  up.  *  *  * 
There  could  be  no  justification  whatever  for  any  plan  of  opera- 
tions which  made  an  attack  dependent  upon  a  junction  between 
Custer  and  Gibbon,  after  three  or  four  days'  march  from  different 
points. 

"  It  has  been  asserted  that,  smarting  under  the  wounds  which 
preceding  events  had  inflicted  upon  his  pride,  Custer  dashed 
recklessly  into  this  affair  for  the  purpose  of  eclipsing  his  superior 
officers  in  the  same  field,  regardless  of  cost  or  consequences. 
This,  it  seems  to  us,  is  going  much  too  far.  Custer  was  doubtless 
glad  of  the  opportunity  to  fight  the  battle  alone,  and  was  stimu- 
lated by  the  anticipation  of  a  victory  which,  illuminating  his 
already  brilliant  career,  would  make  him  outshine  those  put  on 
duty  over  him  in  this  campaign.  But  his  management  of  the 
affair  was  probably  just  about  what  it  would  have  been  under 
the  same  circumstances,  if  he  had  had  no  grievance.  His  great 
mistake  was  in  acting  in  mingled  ignorance  of,  and  contempt 
for  his  enemy.  He  regarded  attack  and  victory  in  this  instance 
as  synonymous  terms^  the  only  point  being  to  prevent  the  escape 
of  the  foe.  Under  this  fatal  delusion  he  opened  the  engagement, 
with  his  command  divided  into  four  parts,  with  no  certainty  of 
co-operation  or  support  between  any  two  of  them.  Neither 
ambition,  nor  wounded  vanity,  prompted  these  vicious  and  fatal 
dispositions,  nor  were  they  due  to  lack  of  knowledge  of  the  prin- 
ciples of  his  profession." 


CHAPTER    XIX. 

a  biographical  sketch  of  major-general  custer, 
(concluded.) 

As  the  foregoing  biography  of  Gen.  Custer  has  been 
confined  chiefly  to  his  military  career,  it  may  be  well 
in  conclusion  to  give  some  account  of  his  personal 
characteristics ;  and  this  can  be  best  done  in  the  lan- 
guage of  those  who  knew  him  well.  A  gentleman 
who  accompanied  Gen.  Custer  on  the  Yellowstone 
and  Black  Hills  expeditions,  contributed  to  the  New 
York  Tribune  the  following : — 

"  Gen.  Custer  was  a  born  cavalryman.  He  was  never  more  in 
Ms  element  than  when  mounted  on  Dandy,  his  favorite  horse, 
and  riding  at  the  head  of  his  regiment.  He  once  said  to  me, 
'  I  would  rather  be  a  private  in  the  cavalry  than  a  line  officer  in 
the  infantry.'  He  was  the  personification  of  bravery  and  dash. 
If  he  had  only  added  discretion  to  his  valor  he  would  have  been 
a  perfect  soldier.  His  impetuosity  very  often  ran  away  with  his 
judgment.  He  was  impatient  of  control.  He  liked  to  act  inde- 
pendently of  others,  and  take  all  the  risk  and  all  the  glory  to  him- 
self. He  frequently  got  himself  into  trouble  by  assuming  more 
authority  than  really  belonged  to  his  rank.  It  was  on  the 
Yellowstone  expedition  where  he  came  into  collision  with  Gen. 
Stanlej",  his  superior  officer,  and  was  placed  under  arrest  and 
compelled  to  ride  at  the  rear  of  his  column  for  two  or  three  days, 
until  Gen.  Rosser,  who  fought  against  Custer  in  the  Shenandoah 
Valley  during  the  war  but  was  then  acting  as  engineer  of  the 
Northern  Pacific  Railroad,  succeeded  in  effecting  a  reconciliation. 
Custer  and  Stanley  afterward  o;ot  on  very  well,  and  perhaps  the 


PEKSONAL    CHARACTERISTICS.  -  133 

quarrel  would  never  have  occurred  if  the  two  generals  had  been 
left  alone  to  themselves  without  the  intervention  of  camp  gossips, 
who  sought  to  foster  the  traditional  jealousy  between  infantry  and 
cavalry.  For  Stanley  was  the  soul  of  generosity,  and  Custer 
did  not  really  mean  to  be  arrogant ;  but  from  the  time  when  he 
entered  West  Point  to  the  day  when  he  fell  on  the  Big  Horn,  he 
was  accustomed  to  take  just  as  much  liberty  as  he  was  entitled 
to. 

"  For  this  reason,  Custer  worked  most  easily  and  effectively 
when  under  general  orders,  when  not  hampered  by  special  in- 
structions, or  his  success  made  dependent  on  anybody  else. 
Gen.  Terry  understood  his  man  when,  in  the  order  directing  him 
to  march  up  the  Rosebud,  he  very  liberally  said  :  '  The  Depart- 
ment Commander  places  too  much  confidence  in  your  zeal,  energy, 
and  ability  to  wish  to  impose  upon  you  precise  orders  which 
might  hamper  your  action  when  nearly  in  contact  with  the 
enemy.'  But  Gen.  Terry  did  not  understand  Custer  if  he 
thought  he  would  wait  for  Gibbon's  support  before  attacking  an 
Indian  camp.  Undoubtedly  he  ought  to  have  done  this ;  but 
with  his  native  impetuosity,  his  reckless  daring,  his  confidence 
in  his  own  regiment,  which  had  never  failed  him,  and  his  love 
of  public  approval,  Custer  could  no  more  help  charging  this 
Indian  camp,  than  he  could  help  charging  just  so  many  buffaloes* 
He  had  never  learned  to  spell  the  word  '  defeat ; '  he  knew  nothing 
but  success,  and  if  he  had  met  the  Indians  on  the  open  plains, 
success  would  undoubtedly  have  been  his  ;  for  no  body  of  Indiana 
could  stand  the  charge  of  the  7th  Cavalry  when  it  swept  over  the 
Plains  like  a  whirlwind.  But  in  the  Mauvaises  Terres  and  the 
narrow  valley  of  the  Big  Horn  he  did  it  at  a  fearful  risk. 

"  With  all  his  bravery  and  self-reliance,  his  love  of  indepen- 
dent action,  Custer  was  more  dependent  than  most  men  on  the 
kind  approval  of  his  fellows.  He  was  even  vain  ;  he  loved  dis- 
play in  dress  and  in  action.  He  would  pay  $40  for  a  pair  of 
troop  boots  to  wear  on  parade,  and  have  everything  else  in 
keeping.  On  the  Yellowstone  expedition  he  wore  a  bright  red 
shirt,  which  made  him  the  best  mark  for  a  rifle  of  any  man  in  the 
regiment.  I  remonstrated  with  him  for  this  reckless  exposure, 
but  found  an  appeal  to  his  wife  more  effectual,  and  on  the  next 
campaign  he  wore  a  buckskin  suit.  He  formerly  wore  his  hair 
very  long,  letting  it  fall  in  a  heavy  mass  upon  his  shoulders,  but 
36 


134  LIFE    OF    GENERAL    CUSTER. 

cut  it  off  before  going  out  on  the  Black  Hills,  producing  quite  a 
change  in  his  appearance.  But  if  vain  and  ambitious,  Custer 
had  none  of  those  great  vices  which  are  so  common  and  so  dis- 
tressing in  the  arnry.  He  never  touched  liquor  in  any  form  ;  he 
did  not  smoke,  or  chew,  or  gamble.  He  was  a  man  of  great  en- 
ergy and  remarkable  endurance.  He  could  outride  almost  any 
man  in  his  regiment,  I  believe,  if  it  were  put  to  a  test.  When  he 
set  out  to  reach  a  certain  point  at  a  certain  time,  you  could  be 
sure  that  he  would  be  there  if  he  killed  every  horse  in  the  com- 
mand. He  was  sometimes  too  severe  in  forcing  marches,  but  he 
never  seemed  to  get  tired  himself,  and  he  never  expected  his  men 
to  be  so.  In  cutting  our  way  through  the  forests  of  the  Black 
Hills,  I  have  often  seen  him  take  an  ax  and  work  as  hard  as  any 
of  the  pioneers.  He  was  never  idle  when  he  had  a  pretext  for 
doing  anything.  Whatever  he  did  he  did  thoroughly.  He  would 
overshoot  the  mark,  but  never  fall  short.  He  fretted  in  garrison 
sometimes,  because  it  was  too  inactive  ;  but  he  found  an  outlet 
here  for  his  energies  in  writing  articles  for  the  press. 

"  He  had  a  remarkable  memory.  He  could  recall  in  its  proper 
order  every  detail  of  any  action,  no  matter  how  remote,  of  which 
he  was  a  participant.  He  was  rather  verbose  in  writing,  and  had 
no  gifts  as  a  speaker  ;  but  his  writings  interested  the  masses  from 
their  close  attention  to  details,  and  from  his  facility  with  the  pen 
as  with  the  sword  in  bringing  a  thing  to  a  climax.  As  he  was 
apt  to  overdo  in  action,  so  he  was  apt  to  exaggerate  in  state- 
ment, not  from  any  wilful  disregard  of  the  truth,  but  because  he 
saw  things  bigger  than  they  really  were.  He  did  not  distort  the 
truth ;  he  magnified  it.  He  was  a  natural  optimist.  He  took 
rose-colored  views  of  everything,  even  of  the  miserable  lands  of 
the  Northern  Pacific  Railroad.  He  had  a  historical  memory,  but 
not  a  historical  mind.  He  was  no  philosopher  ;  he  could  reel  off 
facts  from  his  mind  better  than  he  could  analyze  or  mass  them. 
He  was  not  a  student,nor  a  deep  thinker.  He  loved  to  take  part 
in  events  rather  than  to  brood  over  them.  He  was  fond  of  fun, 
genial  and  pleasant  in  his  manner  ;  a  loving  and  devoted  husband. 
It  was  my  privilege  to  spend  two  weeks  in  his  family  at  one 
time,  and  I  know  how  happy  he  was  in  his  social  relations." 

The  following  rambling  remarks  are  accredited  to 

a  general,  whose  name  is  not  given : — 

"  The  truth  about  Custer  is,  that  he  was  a  pet  soldier,  who  had 


PERSONAL    CHARACTERISTICS.  135 

risen  not  above  his  merit,  but  higher  than  men  of  equal  merit. 
He  fought  with  Phil  Sheridan,  and  through  the  patronage  of 
Sheridan  he  rose  ;  but  while  Sheridan  liked  his  valor  and  dash  he 
never  trusted  his  judgment.  He  was  to  Sheridan  what  Murat 
was  to  Napoleon.  While  Sheridan  is  always  cool,  Custer  was 
always  aflame.  Rising  to  high  command  early  in  life,  he  lost  the 
repose  necessary  to  success  in  high  command.  *  *  *  Then 
Custer  must  rush  into  politics,  and  went  swinging  around  the 
circle  with  Johnson.  He  wanted  to  be  a  statesman,  and  but  for 
Sheridan's  influence  with  Grant,  the  republicans  would  have 
thrown  him ;  but  you  see  we  all  liked  Custer,  and  did  not  mind 
his  little  freaks  in  that  way  any  more  than  we  would  have  mind- 
ed temper  in  a  woman.  Sheridan,  to  keep  Custer  in  his  place, 
kept  him  out  on  the  Plains  at  work.  He  gave  him  a  fine  com- 
mand— one  of  the  best  cavalry  regiments  in  the  service.  The 
colonel,  Sturgis,  was  allowed  to  bask  in  the  sunshine  in  a  large 
city,  while  Custer  was  the  real  commander.  In  this  service 
Custer  did  well,  and  vindicated  the  partiality  of  Sheridan  as  well 
as  the  kind  feelings  of  his  friends.  *  *  *  The  old  spirit  which 
sent  Custer  swinging  around  the  circle  revived  in  him.  He  came 
East  and  took  a  prominent  part  in  reforming  the  army.  This 
made  feeling,  and  drew  upon  Custer  the  anger  of  the  inside  forces 
of  the  administration. 

"  Then  he  must  write  his  war  memoirs.  "Well,  in  these  me- 
moirs he  began  to  write  recklessly  about  the  army.  He  took  to 
praising  McClellan  as  the  greatest  man  of  the  war,  and,  coming 
as  it  did  when  the  democrats  began  to  look  livery,  it  annoyed  the 
administration.  Grant  grew  so  much  annoyed  that  even  Sheridan 
could  do  no  good,  and  Custer  was  disgraced.  Technically  it  was 
not  a  disgrace.  All  that  Grant  did  was  to  put  Terry,  a  general, 
over  Custer,  a  lieutenant-colonel,  who  had  his  regiment  all  the 
same ;  but  all  things  considered,  it  was  a  disgrace." 

The  following  is  from  an  article  by  Gen.  A.  B. 
Nettleton,  published  in  the  Philadelphia  Times : — 

"  It  must  be  remembered  that  in  fighting  with  cavalry,  which 
was  Custer's  forte,  instantaneous  quickness  of  eye  —  that  is, 
the  lightning-like  formation  and  execution  of  successive  correct 
judgments  on  a  rapidly-shifting  situation — is  the  first  thing,  and 
the  second  is  the  power  of  inspiring  the  troopers  with  that  im- 
petuous  yet  intelligent   ardor  with   which  a  mounted  brigade 


136  LIFE    OF    GENERAL    CUSTER. 

becomes  a  thunderbolt,  and  without  which  it  remains  a  useless 
mass  of  horses  and  riders.  These  qualities  Gen.  Custer  seemed 
to  me  to  manifest,  throughout  the  hard  fighting  of  the  last  year 
of  the  war,  to  a  degree  that  was  simply  astounding,  and  in  a 
manner  that  marked  him  as  one  of  the  few  really  great  cavalry 
commanders  developed  by  the  wars  of  the  present  century.  Of 
fear,  in  the  sense  of  dread  of  death  or  of  bodily  harm,  he  was  ab- 
solutely destitute,  yet  his  love  of  life  and  family  and  home  was 
keen  and  constant,  leaving  no  room  in  his  nature  for  desperation, 
recklessness,  or  conscious  rashness.  In  handling  his  division 
under  Sheridan's  general  oversight,  he  seemed  to  act  always  on 
the  belief  that  in  campaigning  with  cavalry,  when  a  certain  work 
must  be  done,  audacity  is  the  truest  caution.  In  action,  when 
all  was  going  well  and  success  was  only  a  question  of  time  or  of 
steady  '  pounding,'  Gen.  Custer  did  not  unnecessarily  expose 
himself,  but  until  the  tide  of  battle  had  been  turned  in  the  right 
direction,  and  especially  when  disaster  threatened,  the  foremost 
point  in  our  division's  line  was  almost  invariably  marked  by  the 
presence  of  Custer,  his  waving  division  tri-color  and  his  plucky 
staff. 

"  A  major-general  of  wide  and  splendid  fame  at  twenty-five, 
and  now  slain  at  thirty-six,  the  gallant  Custer  had  already  lived 
long  if  life  be  measured  by  illustrious  deeds." 

The   following   is  from  a  sketch   of  Gen.  Custer 

published  in  the'Army  and  Navy  Journal: — 

"  Custer  was  passionately  addicted  to  active  and  exciting  sports 
as  the  turf  and  hunting.  He  was  a  splendid  horseman  and  a 
lover  of  the  horse ;  he  attended  many  American  race-meetings 
and  ran  his  own  horses  several  times  in  the  "West.  His  grej-- 
hounds  and  staghounds  went  with  him  at  the  head  of  his  regi- 
ment, to  be  let  slip  at  antelope  or  buffalo.  "With  rifle  or  shot- 
gun he  was  equally  expert,  and  had  killed  his  grizzly  bear  in  the 
most  approved  fashion.  *  *  *  Bold  to  rashness ;  feverish  in 
camp,  but  cool  in  action ;  with  the  personal  vanity  of  a  carpet 
knight,  and  the  endurance  and  insensibility  to  fatigue  of  the 
hardiest  and  boldest  rough  rider  ^  a  prince  of  scouts  ;  a  chief  of 
guides,  threading  a  trackless  prairie  with  unerring  eye  of  a  native 
and  the  precision  of  the  needle  to  the  star ;  by  no  means  a  mar- 
tinet, his  men  were  led  by  the  golden  chain  of  love,  admiration 
and  confidence.     He  had  the  proverbial  assurance  of  a  hussar, 


PERSONAL    CHARACTERISTICS.  137 

but  his  personal  appearance  varied  with  occasion.  During  the 
war  he  was  'Custer  of  the  golden  locks,  his  broad  sombrero 
turned  up  from  his  hard-bronzed  face,  the  ends  of  his  crimson 
cravat  floating  over  his  shoulder,  gold  galore  spangling  his 
jacket  sleeves,  a  pistol  in  his  boot,  jangling  spurs  on  his  heels, 
and  a  ponderous  claymore  swinging  at  his  side.'  And  long  after, 
when  he  roamed  a  great  Indian  fighter  on  the  Plains,  the  portrait 
was  only  slightly  changed.  The  cavalry  jacket  was  exchanged 
for  the  full  suit  of  buckskin,  beautifully  embroidered  by  Indian 
maidens ;  across  his  saddle  rested  a  modern  sporting  rifle,  and 
at  his  horse's  feet  demurely  walked  hounds  of  unmixed  breed. 
Again,  within  a  few  months,  he  appears  in  private  society  as  an 
honored  guest ;  scrupulously  avoiding  anything  like  displaj-,  but 
in  a  quiet  conventional  suit  of  blue,  with  the  '  golden  locks ' 
closely  shorn,  and  the  bronzed  face  pale  from  recent  indisposi- 
tion, he  moves  almost  unnoticed  in  the  throng." 

The  faithful  correspondent  who  perished  with  Gen. 

Custer  on  the  Little  Big  Horn  portrayed  him  thus : — 

"  A  man  of  strong  impulses,  of  great  hearted  friendships 
and  bitter  enmities  ;  of  quick,  nervous  temperament,  undaunted 
courage,  will,  and  determination ;  a  man  possessing  electric 
mental  capacity,  and  of  iron  frame  and  constitution ;  a  brave, 
faithful,  gallant  soldier,  who  has  warm  friends  and  bitter  enemies  ; 
the  hardest  rider,  the  greatest  pusher ;  with  the  most  untiring 
vigilance  overcoming  seeming  impossibilities,  and  with  an 
ambition  to  succeed  in  all  things  he  undertakes ;  a  man  to  do 
right,  as  he  construes  right,  in  every  case ;  one  respected  and 
beloved  by  his  followers,  who  would  freely  follow  him  into  the 
'jaws  of  hell.'" 

Gen.  Custer's  last  battle  "  will  stand  in  history  as 
one  of  the  most  heroic  engagements  ever  fought,  and 
his  name  will  be  respected  so  long  as  chivalry  is  ap- 
plauded and  civilization  battles  against  barbarism." 


CHAPTEK    XX. 

THE   SIOUX   TEEATY   OF   1876 INDIAN   OEATOES. 

In  1875,  the  Black  Hills  country  had  acquired  a 
white  population  and  an  importance  which  rendered 
its  possession  and  control  by  the  Government  desir- 
able and  necessary ;  and  an  attempt  was  made  to  treat 
with  the  Indians  for  its  purchase,  but  without  success. 

In  1876,  Congress  expressed  its  determination  to 
appropriate  nothing  more  for  the  subsistence  of  the 
Sioux  Indians  unless  they  made  certain  concessions, 
including  the  surrender  of  the  Black  Hills,  and  en- 
tered into  some  agreement  calculated  to  enable  them 
to  become  self-supporting.  Geo.  W.  Manypenny,  H. 
C.  Bullis,  Newton  Edmunds,  Bt.  Bev.  H.  B.  Whipple, 
A.  G.  Boone,  A.  S.  Gaylord,  J.  W.  Daniels,  and  Gen. 
H.  H.  Sibley,  were  appointed  commissioners  to  nego- 
tiate for  the  concessions  demanded.  The  following 
is  an  extract  from  their  instructions  under  which  they 
acted : — 

"  The  President  is  strongly  impressed  with  the  belief  that  the 
agreement  which  shall  be  best  calculated  to  enable  the  Indians 
to  become  self-supporting  is  one  which  shall  provide  for  their  re- 
moval, at  as  earlj'  a  day  as  possible,  to  the  Indian  Territory. 
For  the  past  three  years  they  have  been  kept  from  starvation  by 
large  appropriations  for  their  subsistence.  These  appropriations 
have  been  a  matter  not  of  obligation  but  of  charity,  and  the 
Indians  should  be  made  to  understand  distinctly  that  they  can 
hope  for  continued  appropriations  only  by  full  submission  to  the 


COUNCILS    WITH    THE    SIOUX.  139 

authority  and  wishes  of  the  Government,  and  upon  full  evidence 
of  their  disposition  to  undertake,  in  earnest,  measures  for  their 
own  advancement  and  support." 

The  first  council  was  held  Sept.  7th,  at  Red  Cloud 
agency,  with  chiefs  and  headmen  representing  4,901 
Indians  then  at  the  agency.  Red  Cloud  and  other 
chiefs  met  the  commissioners  with  warm  welcomes, 
and  said  with  deep  earnestness : — "  We  are  glad  to 
see  you ;  you  have  come  to  save  us  from  death."  The 
conditions  required  by  Congress  were  then  submitted 
to  the  Indians,  with  the  assurance  that  the  commis- 
sioners had  no  authority  to  change  them  in  any  par- 
ticular ;  but  that  they  were  authorized  to  devise  a 
plan  to  save  their  people  from  death  and  lead  them 
to  civilization.  The  plan  decided  on  was  then  care- 
fully explained  and  interpreted,  and  a  copy  of  the 
agreement  given  to  the  Indians  to  take  to  their  own 
council.  Other  councils  were  held  Sept.  19th  and 
20th,  and  after  mutual  explanations  the  agreement 
was  signed. 

Subsequently,  the  commissioners  visited  Spotted 
Tail  agency,  Standing  Rock  agency,  Cheyenne  River 
agency,  Crow  Creek  agency,  Lower  Brule  agency, 
and  Santee  agency.  At  all  of  these  agencies  the 
agreement  was  made  plain  to  the  Indians,  and  after 
due  deliberation  and  considerable  discussion,  duly 
signed.  The  following  are  extracts  from  the  report 
of  the  commissioners  : — 

"  While  the  Indians  received  us  as  friends,  and  listened  with' 
kind  attention  to  our  propositions,  we  were  painfull}'  impressed 
with  their  lack  of  confidence  in  the  pledges  of  the  Government. 
At  times  they  told  their  story  of  wrongs  with  such  impassioned 
earnestness  that  our  cheeks  crimsoned  with  shame.  In  their 
speeches,  the  recital  of  the  wrongs  which  their  people  had  suffered 
at  the  hands  of  the  whites,  the  arraignment  of  the  Government 


140  REPORT    OF    THE    COMMISSIONERS. 

for  gross  acts  of  injustice  and  fraud,  the  description  of  treaties 
made  only  to  be  broken,  the  doubts  and  distrusts  of  present  pro- 
fessions of  friendship  and  good-will,  were  portrayed  in  colors  so 
vivid  and  language  so  terse,  that  admiration  and  surprise  would 
have  kept  us  silent  had  not  shame  and  humiliation  done  so. 
Said  a  chief  to  a  member  of  our  commission  : — '  I  am  glad  to 
see  you,  you  are  our  friends,  but  I  hear  that  you  have  come  to 
move  us.  Tell  your  people  that  since  the  Great  Father  promised 
that  we  should  never  be  removed  we  have  been  moved  five  times.' 
He  added,  with  bitter  irony,  '  I  think  you  had  better  put  the 
Indians  on  wheels  so  you  can  run  them  about  wherever  you  wish.' 

"  The  present  condition  of  the  Sioux  Indians  is  such  as  to 
awaken  the  deepest  sympathy.  The}r  were  our  friends.  If  many 
of  this  powerful  tribe  have  been  changed  to  relentless  foes,  we 
must  not  forget  that  it  is  the  simple  outcome  of  our  own  Indian 
training-school.  Genei'als  Sherman,  Harney,  Terry,  and  others, 
use  these  words  : — 

"  '  The  moment  the  war  of  the  rebellion  was  over,  thousands  of 
our  people  turned  their  attention  toward  the  treasures  of  Montana. 
The  Indian  was  forgotten.  It  did  not  occur  to  any  man  that 
this  poor,  despised  red  man  was  the  original  discoverer,  and  sole 
occupant  for  many  centuries,  of  every  mountain  seamed  with 
quartz  and  every  stream  whose  yellow  sand  glittered  in  the 
noonday  sun.  He  asked  to  retain  only  a  secluded  spot  where 
the  buffalo  and  elk  could  live,  and  that  spot  he  would  make  his 
home.  The  truth  is,  no  place  was  left  for  him.  If  the  lands  of 
the  white  men  are  taken,  civilization  justifies  him  in  resisting  the 
invader.  Civilization  does  more  than  this — it  brands  him  as  a 
coward  and  a  slave  if  he  submits  to  the  wrong.  If  the  savage 
resists,  civilization,  with  the  Ten  Commandments  in  one  hand 
and  the  sword  in  the  other,  demands  his  immediate  extermination. 
That  he  goes  to  war  is  not  astonishing.  He  is  often  compelled 
to  do  so.  Wrongs  are  borne  by  him  in  silence  that  never  fail  to 
drive  civilized  men  to  deeds  of  violence.  *  *  *  But  it  is  said 
that  our  wars  with  them  have  been  almost  constant.  Have  we 
been  uniformly  unjust?    We  answer  unhesitatingly,  'yes.'" 

"General  Stanley  in  1870  writes  from  Dakota,  that  he' is 
'  ashamed  to  appear  any  longer  in  the  presence  of  the  chiefs  of 
the  different  tribes  of  the  Sioux,  who  inquire  why  we  do  not  do 
as  we  promised,  and  in  their  vigorous  language  aver  that  we  have 


ROAMING    INDIANS.  141 

lied.'  Sitting  Bull,  who  had  refused  to  come  under  treaty  rela- 
tions with  the  Government,  based  his  refusal  in  these  words,  sent 
to  the  commission  of  which  Assistant  Secretary  Cowen  was  chair- 
man :  '  Whenever  you  have  found  a  white  man  who  will  tell  the 
truth,  you  may  return,  and  I  shall  be  glad  to  see  you.'  " 

"  It  has  been  claimed  that  all  Indians  found  outside  of  their 
reservation  shall  be  regarded  as  hostile.  Gen.  Sheridan,  June 
29th,  1869,  says  in  an  official  order,  that  all  Indians  outside  the 
well-defined  limits  of  the  reservation  are  under  the  original  and 
exclusive  jurisdiction  of  the  military  authority,  and  as  a  rule  will 
be  considered  hostile.  This  order  is  the  more  surprising  to  us 
when  we  remember  that  the  treaty  made  by  General  Sherman 
and  others  expressly  provided  that  these  Indians  might  hunt 
upon  the  unceded  territory  ;  and  we  find  that  so  late  as  its  last 
session  Congress  appropriated  $200,000  to  be  used  in  part  for  the 
payment  of  the  seventh  of  thirty  installments  '  for  Indians  roam- 
ing.' We  repeat  that,  under  this  treaty,  it  is  expressly  provided 
that  the  Indians  may  hunt  in  the  unceded  territor}'  north  and 
west  of  the  Sioux  reservation,  and  until  last  year  the}-  had  the 
right  to  hunt  in  Western  Nebraska.  We  believe  that  our  failure 
to  recognize  this  right  has  led  to  many  conflicts  between  the  citi- 
zens and  army  of  the  United  States  and  the  Indians." 

"In  1874,  the  late  lamented  Gen.  Custer  made  an  expedition 
to  the  Black  Hills.  It  was  done  against  the  protest  of  the 
Indians  and  their  friends,  and  in  plain,  direct  violation  of  the 
treaty.  Gold  was  discovered,  white  men  flocked  to  the  El  Dorado. 
Notwithstanding  the  gross  violation  of  the  treaty,  no  open  war 
ensued.  If  our  own  people  had  a  sad  story  of  wrongs  suffered 
from  the  Indians,  we  must  not  forget  that  the  Indians,  who  own 
no  telegraph-lines,  who  have  no  press  and  no  reporters,  claimed 
that  they,  too,  had  been  the  victims  of  lawless  violence,  and  had 
a  country  of  untold  value  wrested  from  them  by  force. 

"  The  charge  is  made  that  the  agency  Indians  are  hostile,  and 
that  they  have  furnished  ammunition  and  supplies  to  the  Indians 
with  Sitting  Bull.  There  is  water-navigation  for  3,000  miles 
through  this  territory,  and  an  unguarded  border  of  several  hundred 
miles  along  the  Canadian  frontier.  So  long  as  the  Indians  will 
sell  buffalo-robes  at  a  low  price  and  pay  two  prices  for  guns,  the 
greed  of  white  men  will  furnish  them.  It  is  gross  injustice 
to  the  agents  and  the  Interior  Department  to  accuse  them  of 


142  RESULTS    OF    THE    "WAR. 

furnishing  arms  and  ammunition  for  Indians  to  fight  our  army 
and  murder  our  citizens. 

"  Of  the  results  of  this  year's  war  we  have  no  wish  to  speak. 
It  is  a  heart-rending  record  of  the  slaughter  of  many  of  the 
bravest  of  our  army.  It  has  not  onlj'  carried  desolation  and 
woe  to  hundreds  of  our  own  hearthstones,  but  has  added  to  the 
cup  of  anguish  which  we  have  pressed  to  tha  lips  of  the  Indian. 
We  fear  that  when  others  shall  examine  it  in  the  light  of  history, 
they  will  repeat  the  words  of  the  officers  who  penned  the  report 
of  1868  : — '  The  results  of  the  year's  campaign  satisfied  all  reason- 
able men  that  the  war  was  useless  and  expensive.' 

"  We  hardly  know  how  to  frame  in  words  the  feelings  of  shame 
and  sorrow  which  fill  our  hearts  as  were  call  the  long  record  of  the 
broken  faith  of  our  Government.  It  is  made  more  sad,  in  that 
the  rejoicings  of  our  centennial  3*ear  are  mingled  with  the  wail 
of  sorrow  of  widows  and  orphans  made  by  a  needless  Indian 
war,  and  that  our  Government  has  expended  more  money  in  this 
war  than  all  the  religious  bodies  of  our  country  have  spent  in 
Indian  missions  since  our  existence  as  a  nation. 

"  After  long  and  careful  examination  we  have  no  hesitation  in 
recommending  that  it  is  wise  to  continue  the  humane  policy  inau- 
gurated by  President  Grant.  The  great  obstacle  to  its  complete 
success  is  that  no  change  has  been  made  in  the  laws  for  the  care 
of  Indians.  The  Indian  is  left  without  the  protection  of  law  in 
person,  or  property,  or  life.  He  has  no  personal  rights.  He  has 
no  redress  for  wrongs  inflicted  by  lawless  violence.  He  ma}'  see 
his  crops  destroj'ed,  his  wife  or  child  killed.  His  only  redress  is 
personal  revenge.  *  *  *  In  the  Indian's  wild  state  he  has  a  rude 
government  of  chiefs  and  headmen,  which  is  advisory  in  its  char- 
acter. When  located  upon  reservations  under  the  charge  of  a 
United  States  agent,  this  government  is  destroyed,  and  we  give 
him  nothing  in  its  place. 

"  We  are  aware  that  many  of  our  people  think  that  the  only 
solution  of  the  Indian  problem  is  in  their  extermination.  We 
would  remind  such  persons  that  there  is  only  One  who  can  ex- 
terminate. There  are  too  many  graves  within  our  borders  over 
which  the  grass  has  hardly  grown,  for  us  to  forget  that  God  is 
just.  The  Indian  is  a  savage,  but  he  is  also  a  man.  He  is  one 
of  the  few  savage  men  who  clearly  recognize  the  existence  of  a 
Great  Spirit.     He  believes  in  the  immortality  of  the  soul.     He  has 


SURRENDER    OF    THE    BLACK    HILLS.  143 

a  passionate  love  for  his  children.  He  loves  his  country.  He 
will  gladly  die  for  his  tribe.  Unless  we  deny  all  revealed  religion, 
we  must  admit  that  he  has  the  right  to  share  in  all  the  benefits 
of  divine  revelation.  He  is  capable  of  civilization.  Amid  all 
the  obstacles,  the  wrongs,  and  evils  of  our  Indian  polic}-,  there 
are  no  missions  which  show  richer  rewards.  Thousands  of  this 
poor  race,  who  were  once  as  poor  and  degraded  as  the  wild  Sioux, 
are  to-day  civilized  men,  living  by  the  cultivation  of  the  soil,  and 
sharing  with  us  in  those  blessings  which  give  to  men  home, 
country,  and  freedom.  There  is  no  reason  why  these  men  may 
not  also  be  led  out  of  darkness  to  light. 

The  following  is  a  synopsis  of  the  arrangement 
agreed  on  by  the  commissioners  and  Indians : — 

The  Sioux  surrender  all  claim  to  so  much  of  their  reservation 
as  lies  west  of  the  103d  meridan  of  longitude,  and  to  so  much 
of  it  as  lies  between  the  North  and  South  Forks  of  the  Cheyenne 
River  east  of  said  meridian  ;  also  all  claim  to  any  country  lying 
outside  of  their  reservation.  Cannon  Ball  River  and  its  south 
branch  are  to  be  the  northern  boundaiy-  of  the  reservation.  Three 
wagon  or  other  roads  may  be  maintained  across  the  reservation 
from  the  Missouri  River  to  the  Black  Hills.  All  subsistence 
and  supplies  which  may  be  hereafter  provided,  are  to  be  delivered 
on  or  near  the  Missouri  River.  A  delegation  of  chiefs  and  lead- 
ing men  from  each  band  shall  visit  the  Indian  Territory,  with  a 
view  to  selecting  therein  a  permanent  home  for  the  Indians.  If 
such  delegation  shall  make  a  selection  satisfactory  to  the  Indians 
they  represent  and  to  the  United  States,  then  the  Indians  are  to 
remove  to  the  selected  country  within  one  }'ear,  select  allotments 
as  soon  as  possible  afterwards,  and  use  their  best  efforts  to  culti- 
vate the  same.  They  are  in  all  things  to  submit  themselves  to 
such  beneficent  plans  as  the  Government  maj-  provide  for  them 
in  the  selection  of  a  permanent  home  where  they  may  live  like 
white  men. 

The  United  States  agree  to  furnish  subsistence  to  the  Sioux 
until  such  time  as  they  shall  become  self-supporting — rations  to 
be  issued  to  heads  of  families  ;  and  in  case  the  Indians  are  located 
on  lands  suitable  for  cultivation,  and  educational  facilities  are 
afforded  by  the  Government,  the  issue  of  rations  is  to  be  condi- 
tioned on  the  performance  of  labor  by  the  Indians  and  the  atten- 
dance of  their  children  at  school.      Assistance  in  the  way  of 


144  EXCURSION    TO    THE    INDIAN    TERRITORY. 

schools  and  instruction  in  the  agricultural  and  mechanical  arts, 
as  provided  by  the  treat}7  of  1868,  is  guaranteed  ;  and  the  build- 
ing of  comfortable  houses  on  allotments  in  severalty  is  provided 
for.  The  Sioux  are  declared  amenable  to  the  laws  of  the  United 
States ;  and  Congress  shall  secure  to  them  an  orderly  govern- 
ment and  protect  individual  property,  person,  and  life.  The 
agreement  not  to  be  binding  on  either  party  till  approved  by 
Congress  and  the  President. 

With  the  exception  of  the  Santees,  the  Indians  on 
the  Missouri  River  objected  to  visiting  the  Indian 
Territory,  and  were  exempted  from  that  part  of  the 
agreement  by  a  supplementary  clause.  A  delegation 
of  90  Indians  from  the  Red  Cloud  and  Spotted  Tail 
agencies  visited  the  Indian  Territory  in  October  as 
provided  in  the  agreement.  The  following  is  from 
the  report  of  Commissioners  Boone  and  Daniels  who 
accompanied  the  delegation : — 

"  While  travelling  through  the  Territoiy,  Spotted  Tail  took 
special  pains  to  inform  us  that  he  was  not  pleased  with  anything 
that  came  within  his  observation,  and  his  part  of  the  delegation, 
with  but  few  exceptions,  were  not  disposed  to  express  themselves 
in  any  other  way.  Many  of  the  Red  Cloud  party  were  well 
pleased.  Their  chief  said  '  his  Great  Father  asked  him  to  go 
and  find  a  place  where  his  children  could  live  by  cultivating  the 
land.  This  was  the  country,  and  he  should  go  back  and  tell  his 
people  so.'  The  manual-labor  school  of  120  scholars  at  the  Chey- 
enne and  Arapahoe  agency,  was  of  more  interest  to  them  and 
gave  them  more  pleasure  than  anything  else  seen  on  the  journey. 
They  manifested  much  interest  in  the  progress  of  civilization 
among  the  Sac  and  Fox,  and  when  passing  the  Creek  country, 
the  delegation  was  received  b}T  these  tribes  with  generous  hospi- 
tality and  a  hearty  welcome.  When  we  were  at  Okmulgee,  the 
capital  of  the  Creek  Nation,  they  were  invited  to  the  council- 
house  by  the  Creek  chief,  where  he  made  a  very  friendly  speech 
to  them.     The  following  is  a  copy  thereof: — 

"  To  the  Sioux,  my  brethren  : — I  am  well  pleased  to  see  you 
here  in  the  Mus-koke  Nation,  brethren  of  the  same  race  as  our- 
selves.   I  was  told  a  long  time  ago  of  my  red   brethren,  the 


WELCOMED    BY    THE    CREEK    CHIEF.  145 

Sioux,  that  were  living  in  the  far  Northwest.  I  had  heard  of  the 
name  of  3'our  tribe  and  of  many  of  your  leading  chiefs.  I  have 
heard  of  your  great  men,  great  in  war,  and  great  in  council.  I 
have  heard  of  your  trouble  on  account  of  the  intrusion  of  the 
white  men  on  your  reservation  in  search  of  gold.  I  have  heard 
that  the  United  States  Government  had  determined  to  remove 
you  from  your  present  home,  and,  perhaps  it  might  be,  to  this 
Indian  Territory,  to  the  west  of  us.  When  I  heard  that  you 
might  possibly  come  to  this  Territory,  which  has  been  '  set  apart 
for  the  home  of  the  Indians  forever,'  I  was  glad.  I  would  like  to 
have  all  our  red  brethren  settled  in  this  Territory,  as  we  have 
provided  in  our  treaty.  "We,  the  Creeks  and  Cherokees,  have  the 
same  kind  of  title  and  patent  for  our  lauds  from  the  United 
States,  which  guarantees  this  Territoiy  to  us  for  a  home,  under 
our  own  form  of  government,  by  people  of  our  own  race,  as  long 
as  'grass  grows  and  water  runs.'  And  I  think,  therefore,  we 
shall  live  forever  on  our  lands.  I  should  like — and  I  express  the 
wish  of  our  people  —  that  every  Indian  tribe  should  come  here  and 
settle  on  these  lands,  that  this  Territory  may  become  filled  up 
with  Indians,  to  the  exclusion  of  others  who  may  be  inimical  to 
our  race  and  interests.  We  believe  our  right  to  our  soil  and  our 
government,  which  is  best  suited  to  our  peculiar  necessities,  would 
be  safer  if  all  our  race  were  united  together  here.  This  is  my 
earnest  wish.  Then  I  think  the  rising  generation  could  be  edu- 
cated and  civilized,  and,  what  is  still  better,  christianized,  which, 
I  believe,  would  be  the  greatest  benefit  of  all.  This  would  be  to 
our  mutual  benefit  and  good.  I  know  I  express  the  minds  of 
our  people  when  I  give  you  this  welcome  to  our  life  of  a  higher 
civilization,  which  is  better  than  the  old  life  so  long  led  by  our 
race  in  the  past.' 

At  the  councils  held  at  the  different  agencies,  the 
chiefs  and  principal  men  made  numerous  speeches, 
which  conveyed  a  good  idea  of  Indian  views  and 
feelings,  and  were  often  able  and  eloquent.  The 
balance  of  this  chapter  will  be  filled  up  with  extracts 
from  some  of  these  speeches. 

Red  Cloud  Agency.  Fast  Bear  : — My  good  friends,  you  have 
come  here  to  ask  me  for  something,  and  I  have  come  here  to-day 
to  answer.     You  ask  me  to  give  up  the  mountains  that  are  to  the 


146  INDIAN    ORATORS. 

north  of  us,  and  I  answer  yes  to  that  question.  I  give  them  up. 
You  are  here  also  to  ask  me  to  take  a  journey  to  look  at  a  country, 
and  I  also  answer  yes  to  that  question.  I  consent  for  my  young 
men  to  go  down  there  and  see  that  country  ;  but  they  must  look 
at  it  in  silence,  and  come  back  in  silence.  When  they  have  seen 
the  country  I  will  consider  it.  If  it  is  good  I  will  consider  it  so  ; 
if  bad  I  will  consider  that  it  is  bad.  Do  you  understand,  my 
friends,  what  I  last  said  to  you  ?  We  do  not  agree  to  go  there 
to  live  before  we  have  seen  the  country. 

Young-Man-Afraid-of-His-Horse  : — My  father  shook  hands 
with  the  Dakotas  peacefully  on  the  Platte  River.  I  have  been 
brought  up  here  from  a  boy  until  I  got  to  be  a  chief.  The 
soldiers  have  no  business  in  this  country  at  all.  I  wish  to  tell 
you  plainly  that  I  have  been  very  much  ashamed  ever  since  the 
soldiers  came  here.  This  is  my  country,  and  I  have  remained 
here  with  my  women  and  children  eating  such  things  as  the 
Great  Father  has  sent  us.  I  am  going  to  ask  the  Great  Father 
for  a  great  many  things,  things  that  will  make  me  rich.  I  am 
going  to  ask  for  so  much  that  I  am  afraid  the  Great  Father  will 
not  consent  to  give  it  to  me.  I  want  you  to  tell  the  Great  Father 
that  I,  and  all  the  men  like  me,  and  the  children,  are  going  to 
ask  him  for  a  great  many  things,  and  we  expect  to  have  food, 
and  blankets  to  wear  as  long  as  we  live. 

Black  Coal  : — This  place  here  is  a  place  of  peace,  where  we 
and  our  people  have  lived  together  happily,  and  behaved  our- 
selves, and  we  do  not  understand  why  so  many  soldiers  have 
come  here  among  us.  We  have  never  had  an}-  trouble  and  have 
behaved  ourselves,  and  wish  to  have  the  soldiers  sent  away  as 
soon  as  possible,  and  leave  us  in  peace.  The*  people  that  live 
here  have  both  minds  and  hearts  and  good  sense,  but  it  seems 
as  if  the  Great  Father  all  at  once  thought  differently,  and  speaks 
of  us  as  people  that  are  very  bad. 

Red  Cloud  : — The  commissioners  have  both  brains  and  hearts. 
The  Great  Father  has  sent  you  here  to  visit  me  and  my  people, 
and  I  want  that  you  should  help  us.  We  see  a  great  many 
soldiers  here  in  our  country.  We  do  not  like  to  see  them  here. 
I  want  you  to  have  pity  upon  us,  and  have  them  all  taken  awa}r. 
I  understand  all  the  wa}-s  of  the  whites.  I  know  that  everything 
that  has  been  said  has  been  written  down,  and  I  should  like  to 
have  a  fair  copy  of  that  made  and  given  to  me. 


SPOTTED    TAIL'S    SPEECH.  147 

Little  "Wound  : —  I  always  considered  that  when  the  Great 
Father  borrowed  the  country  for  the  overland  road  that  he  made 
an  arrangement  with  us  that  was  to  last  fifty  years  as  payment 
for  that  privilege,  and  yesterday  another  arrangement  was  men- 
tioned concerning  the  Black  Hills,  and  the  words  that  I  heard 
from  the  Great  Father  and  from  the  commissioners  from  the 
Great  Council  made  me  cry.  The  country  upon  which  I  am 
standing  is  the  country  upon  which  I  was  born,  and  upon  which 
I  heard  that  it  was  the  wish  of  the  Great  Father  and  of  the  Great 
Council  that  I  should  be  like  a  man  without  a  country.  I  shed 
tears.  I  wish  that  the  chief  men  among  you  that  have  come  here 
to  see  me  would  help  me,  and  would  change  those  things  that  do 
not  suit  me. 

Spotted  Tail  Agency.  Spotted  Tail  : — My  friends  that  have 
come  here  to  see  me ;  you  have  brought  to  us  words  from  the 
Great  Father  at  Washington,  and  I  have  considered  them  now 
for  seven  days,  and  have  made  up  nry  mind.  This  is  the  fifth 
time  that  you  have  come.  At  the  time  of  the  first  treaty  that 
was  made  on  Horse  Creek — the  one  we  call  the  "  great  treaty  " 
— there  was  provision  made  to  borrow  the  overland  road  of  the 
Indians,  and  promises  made  at  the  time  of  the  treaty,  though  I 
was  a  boy  at  the  time ;  they  told  me  it  was  to  last  fifty  years. 
These  promises  have  not  been  kept.  All  the  words  have  proved 
to  be  false.  The  next  conference  was  the  one  held  with  Gen. 
Manydear,  when  there  were  no  promises  made  in  particular,  nor 
for  any  amount  to  be  given  to  us,  but  we  had  a  conference  with 
him  and  made  friends  and  shook  hands.  Then  after  that  there 
was  a  treaty  made  by  Gen.  Sherman.  He  told  us  we  should  have 
annuities  and  goods  from  that  treaty  for  thirty-five  years.  He 
said  this,  but  yet  he  didn't  tell  the  truth.  He  told  me  the 
country  was  mine,  and  that  I  should  select  any  place  I  wished 
for  my  reservation  and  live  in  it.  My  friends,  I  will  show  you 
well  his  words  to-day.  *  *  *  I  see  that  my  friends  before  me 
are  men  of  age  and  dignity.  I  think  that  each  of  you  have 
selected  somewhere  a  good  piece  of  land  for  himself,  with  the 
intention  of  living  on  it,  that  he  may  there  raise  up  his  children. 
My  people,  that  you  see  here  before  you,  are  not  different ;  they 
also  live  upon  the  earth  and  upon  the  things  that  come  to  them 
from  above. 

My  friends,  this  seems  to  me  to  be  a  very  hard  day,  and  we 
have  come  upon  very  difficult  times.     This  war  did  not  spring  up 


148  SPOTTED    TAIL'S    SPEECH. 

here  in  our  land  ;  this  war  was  brought  upon  us  by  the  children 
of  the  Great  Father  who  came  to  take  our  land  from  us  without 
price,  and  who,  in  our  land,  do  a  great  man}'  evil  things.  We 
have  a  store-house  to  hold  our  provisions  the  Great  Father  sends 
us,  but  he  sends  very  little  provisions  to  put  in  our  store-house. 
When  our  people  become  displeased  with  their  provisions  and 
have  gone  north  to  hunt  in  order  that  they  might  live,  the  Great 
Father's  children  are  fighting  them.  It  has  been  our  wish  to 
live  in  our  country  peaceably,  but  the  Great  Father  has  filled  it 
with  soldiers  who  think  only  of  our  death.  It  seems  to  me  there 
is  a  better  way  than  this.  When  people  come  to  trouble,  it  is 
better  for  both  parties  to  come  together  without  arms  and  talk  it 
over  and  find  some  peaceful  way  to  settle  it.  My  friends,  you 
have  come  to  me  to-day,  and  mentioned  two  countries  to  me. 
One  of  them  I  know  of  old — the  Missouri  River.  It  is  not  pos- 
sible for  me  to  go  there.  When  I  was  there  before  we  had  a 
great  deal  of  trouble.  I  left  also  100  of  my  people  buried  there. 
The  other  country  you  have  mentioned  is  one  I  have  never  seen 
since  I  was  born,  but  I  agree  to  go  and  look  at  it.  When  men 
have  a  difficult  business  to  settle  it  is  not  possible  it  should  be 
well  settled  in  one  day ;  it  takes  at  least  twelve  months  to 
consider  it. 

Spotted  Tail  : — (Second  Council.)  This  war  has  come  from 
robbery — from  the  stealing  of  our  land.  My  friends,  I  wish  to 
tell  the  Great  Father  "  Let  us  consider  this  matter."  There  are 
on  both  sides  a  great  man}r  widows  and  a  great  many  orphans. 
Let  us  consider  who  is  to  take  care  of  these.  This  matter  has 
not  been  begun  with  judgment ;  and  I  think  it  is  displeasing  to 
the  Great  Spirit.  The  Great  Father  sent  you  out  here  to  buy 
our  land  and  we  have  agreed  together  to  that,  but  with  one 
understanding : — That  it  shall  be  the  end,  also,  of  this  war.  We 
have  always  been  peaceful  friends  of  the  Great  Father,  and  shall 
remain  at  peace  with  him  ;  but  all  at  once  a  whirlwind  has  passed 
over  our  land,  and  the  ammunition  has  been  locked  up  so  that  we 
cannot  get  it  to  hunt  game  to  live  upon.  Now  we  shake  hands 
and  make  peace  and  wish  it  to  be  unlocked  so  we  can  buy  ammu- 
nition. You  know  this  trouble  does  not  please  the  Great  Spirit, 
and  I  want  you  to  help  me  to  blot  it  out. 

Baptiste  Good  : — You  have  come  here  with  considerations  that 
will  make  my  people  live,  and  my  heart  is  glad.  When  Gen. 
Sherman  came  to  make  a  treaty  with  my  people,  I  was  also  glad- 


SPEECH    OF    BLUE    TEETH.  149 

That  was  like  the  birth  of  a  child.  I  wish  you  would  tell  the 
Great  Father  we  need  implements  to  work  with,  and  wagons  for 
two  horses.  I  have  worn  out  my  fingers  working  without  imple- 
ments. I  have  planted  corn,  and  I  am  happy  to  say  it  has  grown 
up  and  produced  fruit.  The  white  minister  has  come  here  to 
teach  me,  but  I  don't  think  it  is  done  properly.  I  would  like  to 
have  some  female  ministers  come  dressed  in  black  to  receive  the 
girls  in  one  house  and  teach  them,  and  have  white  male  ministers 
in  black  hat  and  coat  to  teach  the  boys  in  another  house  sepa- 
rately. 

Blue  Teeth  : — Just  such  men  as  y ou  came  to  make  the  treaty 
with  me.  They  showed  me  a  road  to  walk  in,  and  I  showed  m}* 
people  and  advised  them  according  to  their  words,  and  they 
were  glad.  But  the  things  they  promised  me  didn't  turn  out  as 
they  promised  them.  I  am  the  man  that  heard  the  promises 
made.  Spotted  Tail  told  you  about  that  j-esterdaj',  according  to 
my  direction,  but  I  was  hiding  mj'self.  I  want  the  man  pointed 
out  that  is  going  to  talk  to  the  Great  Father.  [Judge  Gaylord  is 
pointed  out.]  You  see  that  pipe :  take  it,  [handing  to  Judge 
Gaylord  a  pipe  and  tobacco-pouch.]  The  Great  Spirit  gave  me 
that  pipe.  He  told  me  to  point  it  to  m}-  mother,  the  earth,  when 
I  pra}'ed.  I  wish  3rou  to  take  it  to  the  Great  Father  at  Wash- 
ington, and  tell  him  a  man  that  made  a  speech  here  presented  it 
to  him,  and  ask  him  to  be  merciful  to  him  and  help  him  to  live. 
Tell  him  this  is  my  country,  and  for  him  to  have  pity  upon  me 
and  not  move  me  away  from  it.     I  want  to  live  here  always. 

Standing  Bock  Agency.  John  Grass  : — Look  well  at  me  with 
both  eyes  and  listen  to  me  with  both  ears.  I  have  considered 
the  words  you  have  brought  me,  and  I  am  ready  to  answer  you. 
The  chiefs  you  see  here  have  all  come  to  the  same  conclusion. 
You  have  brought  words  to  the  chiefs  here  that  will  bring  life  to 
their  children ;  that  will  make  their  children  live ;  they  answer 
how  [signifying  their  approval]  to  that.  And  now  since  they  have 
ceded  their  country  to  you,  they  want  to  tell  you  of  certain  things 
that  they  shall  want  in  the  future. 

Running  Antelope  :  —  When  people  shake  hands  and  talk, 
they  talk  in  earnest.  I  want  you  to  look  on  this  man  Kill  Eagle, 
with  his  people  who  are  prisoners  here.  He  is  one  of  us  and  is 
our  kindred.  Kindred  living  with  each  other  love  each  other, 
and  when  they  get  into  trouble  they  help  each  other  out,  and  we 
look  on  these  Indians  the  same  as  white.  He  went  out  to  the 
37 


150  A    HUNGRY    BEAR. 

hostile  camp,  held  his  gun,  witnessed  a  fight,  and  came  back. 
I  want  before  the  sun  sets  to  see  these  men  released.  I  am  an 
old  man,  and  I  ask  these  things  as  a  favor. 

In  regard  to  this  store.  I  have  been  to  see  the  Great  Father, 
and  the  white  people  are  wealtlry.  Even  they  have  stores  one 
right  against  the  other,  touching  each  other.  When  a  man  goes 
in  a  store  and  finds  something  he  wants  and  cannot  obtain  it  as 
cheaply  as  he  desires,  he  goes  into  another,  and  so  on  until  he  gets 
what  he  wants  and  at  the  proper  price.     We  want  to  do  so  here. 

Two  Bears  : — Hail  Great  Spirit,  and  hail  my  friends  who  I 
see  here,  and  hail  Great  Father !  My  heart  is  this  day  made 
glad  by  seeing  you  here.  You  prayed  to  the  Great  Spirit  and 
that  made  our  hearts  glad.  I  was  the  chief  owner  of  this  country, 
but  the  Great  Father  turned  it  over  to  his  young  men.  This  was 
a  hard  thing  for  him  to  do  to  me  ;  now  that  he  proposes  to  pay 
me  for  it  I  am  very  glad.  I  am  of  the  fifth  generation  of  the 
Sioux  Indians,  and  the  sixth  generation  is  growing  up  around 
me.  I  want  the  Government  to  provide  for  the  same  number  of 
generations  in  the  future.  I  am  making  this  trade  with  the  Great 
Father,  and  I  am  not  a  white  man  and  am  not  able  to  live  like  a 
white  man.  They  eat  but  little,  but  I  am  not  able  to  get  along 
with  a  little  yet.  The  Great  Spirit  fed  me,  and  fed  me  in  large 
quantities.  I  eat  all  day,  and  eating  great  quantities  has  become 
a  habit  with  me.  I  am.  afraid  of  frightful  things  ;  I  am  afraid 
of  bad  things  ;  I  am  afraid  of  a  battle.  I  like  good  things,  and 
straightforward  dealings.  For  two  winters  I  was  starving  and 
have  eaten  a  great  number  of  my  horses  and  dogs.  In  conse- 
quence of  this  starvation  many  of  our  people  fled  from  the  agency 
in  search  of  food,  and  while  they  were  out  one  of  them  got  into 
trouble,  [referring  to  Kill  Eagle.] 

Mad  Bear  : — I  am  an  Indian,  a  poor,  miserable  Indian,  but  if 
I  should  do  as  has  been  clone  by  us,  the  Great  Spirit  would  dis- 
like, and  hate  me,  and  for  that  reason  I  cannot  do  these  things. 
Men,  civilians,  that  we  have  had  for  agents  would  steal  our  food, 
steal  things  that  were  sent  to  us.  It  is  the  fault  of  the  white 
men  that  this  is  done.  They  select  men  that  belong  to  the  ring. 
When  one  agent  is  removed  they  select  his  friend  to  succeed  him, 
and  so  the  stealing  goes  on.  The  matter  of  their  traders  alone 
is  enough  to  drive  the  Indians  hostile.  It  would  drive  a  white 
man  hostile  to  be  treated  as  we  are  treated,  and  to  be  charged 
prices  as  our  traders  charge  us  for  goods.     If  an  Indian  succeeds 


A    FOOLISH    FOOL    DOG.  151 

in  getting  a  dollar  he  takes  it  to  the  store  to  trade,  and  what  he 
receives  in  return  for  it  amounts  to  probably  half  a  dime.  We 
want  the  monopoly  of  trading  stores  stopped.  The  work,  the 
labor,  everything  is  monopolized  by  white  men,  who  have  every- 
thing their  own  way.  It  is  hard  to  be  an  Indian  chief.  Our 
young  men  do  not  listen  to  us — they  will  not  mind  us. 

Fool  Dog  : — The  Great  Spirit  created  these  men  and  they  ex- 
pect to  raise  children  after  them.  Generations  are  not  to  stop 
here,  they  are  still  to  go  on  living,  and  we  look  to  you  for  help 
and  assistance.  I  am  an  Indian,  and  am  looked  on  by  the  whites 
as  a  foolish  man  ;  but  it  must  be  because  I  follow  the  advice  of 
the  white  man. 

Long  Soldier  : — The  Great  Spirit  called  me  forth  to  be  a 
chief,  and  this  day  I  sa}-  how  to  you.  The  Great  Father  has 
asked  me  for  a  portion  of  my  country  and  has  made  me  an  offer 
in  return  for  it.  I  am  very  glad  to  get  what  has  been  offered  to 
me,  and  I  therefore  say  how  to  your  proposition.  I  am  a  very 
suspicious  man  and  always  suspect  people  of  some  evil  designs 
when  they  talk  to  me,  and  therefore  remain  at  home.  My  father, 
who  has  instructed  me  to  be  a  friend  of  the  whites,  is  still  living, 
and  I  want  him  to  share  in  the  benefits  that  arise  from  the  sale  of 
the  Black  Hills. 

Two  Bears  : — My  friends,  to-day  we  have  talked  together  with 
smiles  on  our  faces,  and  we  are  going  to  sign  this  paper  with  the 
understanding  that  everj'thing  in  it  is  true,  and  that  we  are  not 
deceiving  each  other.  My  children  are  very  poor  and  very  igno- 
rant, and  they  don't  know  anything  about  weights  and  measures, 
and  if  3rou  are  going  to  issue  my  rations  by  weight  I  want  you  to 
give  good  measure.  In  signing  this  agreement  I  don't  sign  it 
myself;  I  have  a  young  man  who  is  my  hope  for  the  future. 
Although  I  touch  the  pen  myself,  I  touch  it  for  my  son,  who  is  to 
be  my  successor. 

Drag  Wood  : — I  am  an  old  man  and  my  bones  are  getting 
sore,  and  I  want  my  son  to  sign  this  agreement  with  me. 

Wolf  Necklace  : — I  never  want  to  leave  this  country  ;  all  my 
relatives  are  lying  here  in  the  ground,  and  when  I  fall  to  pieces  I 
am  going  to  fall  to  pieces  here. 

Cheyenne  River  Agency.  Long  Mandan  : — I  am  glad  of  one 
thing ;  the  Great  Father  knows  that  this  is  my  country,  and 
before  he  takes  it  from  me  he  is  going  to  ask  my  permission. 
Our  people  are  poor,  they  have  nothing  in  their  lodges,  and  if 


152  AN    HONEST    AGRICULTURIST. 

you  will  visit  them  you  would  feel  disposed  to  bring  many  things 
to  them  to-day.  My  friends,  when  I  went  to  Washington  I  went 
into  your  money-house,  and  I  had  some  young  men  with  me,  but 
none  of  them  took  any  money  out  of  that  house  while  I  was  with 
them.  At  the  same  time,  when  your  Great  Father's  people  come 
into  my  country,  they  go  into  my  money-house  and  take  money 
out.  More  than  that,  they  commit  depredations  on  us  ;  and  stole 
fifty  head  of  horses  and  took  them  away  from  me.  If  the  Great 
Father  was  not  a  great  man  and  was  not  a  man  that  had  great 
power  and  a  good  man,  I  should  have  been  mad  ;  but  he  is  a 
great  man  and  a  good  man,  and  that  is  the  reason  that  I  have  not 
been  offended  at  him.  I  would  much  rather  have  gone  to  Wash- 
ington with  my  people  and  have  signed  this  treat}7  there.  I  do 
not  want  to  spend  a  great  deal  of  money  for  the  Great  Father, 
but  at  the  same  time  I  know  that  the  Great  Father  is  wealth}'. 
I  want  to  tap  the  telegraph  that  is  over  the  river,  and  talk  to  the 
Great  Father  in  that  way,  and  to  have  him  answer  me  in  the  same 
way.  I  want  him  to  give  me  plenty  of  mowing-machines,  and  I 
would  like  very  much  to  have  a  good  blacksmith.  I  will  show 
you  something  to-day  that  I  have  done  in  this  country  in  the  wa}- 
of  farming ;  a  large  pumpkin  that  I  have  sent  to  be  brought  here 
to  show  you.  My  friends,  you  may  think  that  I  never  raised  it 
when  you  see  it,  but  I  want  to  show  it  to  you,  and  have  sent 
for  it. 

Red  Feather  :  —The  Great  Father  asked  me  in  regard  to  the 
missions  and  churches  and  schools,  and  told  me  I  must  take  hold 
of  that  and  assist  him.  There  were  two  ministers  here,  and  I  re- 
garded them  as  two  canes  to  walk  upon  and  help  me  up  with. 
There  is  one  thing  that  the  people  of  the  Great  Father  have  that 
I  do  not  want,  and  that  is  whisky.  I  do  not  want  any  whisky 
on  my  reservation.  Whenever  a  man  drinks  whisky  he  loses  his 
senses,  and  that  is  the  reason  why  I  object  to  it. 

Duck  : — The  soldiers  that  are  fighting  have  killed  a  great  many 
people  on  both  sides,  and  have  made  many  widows  and  orphans 
on  both  sides.  I  am  sony  to  know  that  anybody  was  killed  on 
either  side.  All  the  badness  and  all  the  trouble  that  has  occurred 
here  formerly,  I  gather  it  up  in  my  hand  and  throw  it  away  ;  tell 
the  Great  Father  that.  Look  at  this  people ;  they  are  poor 
people  ;  they  have  a  hard  time  to  get  what  little  furs  and  hides 
they  have  ;  but  when  we  take  them  to  the  stores  we  do  not  get 
enough  for  them.     If  you  are  not  afraid  of  me,  and  do  not  think 


WHITE    GHOST.  153 

I  am  fooling  with  you,   I  would  like  to  have  you  attend  to  this 
hide  business,  and  see  that  we  get  $6  apiece  for  them. 

White  Bull  : — I  see,  my  friends,  the  soldiers  standing  here 
about  me.  They  are  people  whose  business  it  is  to  die,  but  we 
think  better  things  for  them.  We  have  given  them  the  Black 
Hills  ;  we  wish  they  would  go  there  and  dig  gold  without  being 
afraid  of  any  bod}-. 

Crow  Creek  Agency.  White  Ghost  : — Around  and  about  the 
hills  on  the  prairies  there  are  a  great  many  dead  people  lying, 
but  the  Great  Father  has  decided  to  give  us  a  good  price  for  the 
hills ;  therefore  it  is — because  the  Great  Father  is  strong — that 
we  are  willing  to  give  them  up.  We  live  right  near  a  trading- 
post,  and  we  become  poor  because  we  have  not  money  to  buy 
those  things  we  want.  I  do  not  wish  you  to  think  that  I  am  find- 
ing fault  or  out  of  temper.  I  merel}'  say  the  things  I  am  in- 
structed to  say.  My  people  wish  to  have  it  understood  that  they 
do  not  wish  to  have  any  soldiers  sent  here  or  any  soldier  for  an 
agent.  I  must  tell  everything  that  I  am  instructed  to  sa}- ;  they 
are  all  here  listening  to  see  whether  I  saj-  everything,  and  I  must 
say  all  that  I  have  been  told.  We  would  like  to  have  Mr. 
Premeau  appointed  for  interpreter.  He  is  a  white  man,  a  man 
that  understands  the  language,  and  does  not  drink  whisky.  My 
people  think  that  the  flour  that  is  sent  here  for  them  is  sent  for 
them  to  eat,  and  they  are  not  pleased  that  it  is  fed  to  the  pigs 
about  the  agency ;  and  they  wish  me  to  mention  that  we  take  a 
hide  to  the  store,  quite  a  large  one,  and  receive  an  order  for  three 
dollars'  worth  of  goods.  For  this  large  beef-hide  we  get  one 
piece  of  leather  the  width  of  three  fingers,  for  a  belt ;  it  is  not 
worth  more  than  fifty  cents.     That  does  not  please  us. 

Last  summer  when  I  went  to  the  council  for  the  Black  Hills,  I 
had  a  pipe  with  me.  I  told  them,  in  reference  to  the  Black  Hills, 
that  we  were  bound  b}*  giving  and  receiving  the  pipe,  the  same 
as  white  people  when  they  make  an  oath  in  court  and  swear  upon 
the  Bible,  and  if  the  party  took  the  pipe  that  was  offered  to  him 
in  council  and  held  it  in  his  hand  everything  went  well,  and  if  he 
did  not  speak  the  truth  alwaj's  some  evil  would  spring  up  in  con- 
nection with  it.  Last  summer  the  pipe  was  given  in  council,  and 
what  do  you  think  of  the  matter  now  ?  Have  the  promises  been 
kept,  or  has  the  violation  of  them  caused  war  and  bloodshed  ?  I 
have  for  a  long  time  known  the  wajs  of  your  people  in  dealing 
with  us  and  taking  away  our  country,  and  I  know  that  they  have 


154  AN    ORPHAN'S    WOES. 

been  such  as  to  make  us  miserable.  You  have  driven  away  our 
game  and  our  means  of  livelihood  out  of  the  country,  until  now 
we  have  nothing  left  that  is  valuable  except  the  hills  that  you 
ask  us  to  give  up.  When  we  give  these  up  to  the  Great  Father 
we  know  that  we  give  up  the  last  thing  that  is  valuable  either  to 
us  or  the  white  people  ;  and  therefore  my  people  wish  me  to  say 
that,  as  long  as  two  Indians  are  living,  we  expect  them  to  have 
the  benefit  of  the  price  paid  for  these  lands. 

My  friend,  [to  the  chairman,]  I  am  going  to  give  you  a  pipe. 
Perhaps  we  are  deceiving  each  other  in  this  matter,  perhaps  we 
are  not  going  to  be  truthful,  and  shall  commit  a  great  sin,  but  I 
for  my  part  am  trying  to  speak  the  truth. 

Running  Bear  : — I  look  upon  you  as  you  sit  before  me,  and  I 
see  that  there  are  no  boys  among  you  ;  that  you  are  all  men  of 
age,  and  I  am  glad  to  see  it.     I  am  very  old,  very  near  the  time 
when  I  shall  lie  down  in  the  earth.     Therefore  if  you  have  really 
come  to  help  us  we  are  very  happy.     I  will  speak  now  about  my- 
self.    I  am  an  orphan.     Before  my  father  died  he  told  me  that 
my  country  was  very  valuable.     You  say  you  are  going  to  give 
me  rations  by  weight ;  I  do  not  know  am'thing  about  that ;  I 
think  it  will  take  me  at  least  twelve  3-ears  to  understand  it.    It  is 
only  yesterday  that  the  people  of  my  generation  were  laid  in  the 
ground,  and  I  am  the  only  one  left.    My  father,  who  is  now  dead, 
went  to  the  Great  Father's  house  and  talked  with  him  there. 
The  people  have  now  given  you  the  Black  Hills,  and  we  for  our 
part  would  like  to  go  to  our  Great  Father's  house  and  hear  how 
much  money  he  proposes  to  give  us  in  return.    Again,  the  whisky 
that  the  white  people  have  and  carry  about  with  them  is  very 
bad.     We  hear  that  our  people  who  are  living  up  to  the  north  of 
us  drink  a  great  deal  of  whisky.     We  do  not  like  it  at  all. 
My  friends,  I  am  going  to  ask  3-ou  for  something  that  I  want. 
I  do  not  think  it  possible  that  you  have  come  out  here  to  ask 
me  for  something  without  paying  me  for  it.     I  do  not  consider 
myself  very  rich.     You  white  people  come  out  here  with  a  great 
many  pockets  in  your  clothes.     Probably  the  person  who  sent 
you  told  you  what  to  do  with  the  things  in  your  pockets.     I 
would  like  to  have  you  take  up  a  collection.     Each  of  you  put 
your  hands  in  your  pockets  and  take  out  ten  cents  and  give  it  to 
me  to  buy  something  at  the  store.      You  are  not  particularly 
modest  in  asking  for  the  things  you  want,  and  I  see  no  reason 


THE    STORY    OF    "NOBODY    IN    PARTICULAR."  155 

why  I  should  not  ask  for  the  things  that  I  want.     Do  you  think 
I  do  right  in  asking  you  ? 

You  are  a  chief,  [to  the  chairman.]  I,  also,  am  a  chief.  I 
have  lived  here  now  13  years.  I  do  not  remember  even  a  bad 
word  that  I  have  said  ;  perhaps  the  Great  Father  does.  In  even- 
country  there  are  men  who  are  skillful  in  talking  in  council.  I 
am  such  a  man  myself.  I  also  have  been  instructed.  This 
medal  that  you  see,  was  put  about  my  neck  b}r  a  Catholic  priest, 
and  yet,  notwithstanding  I  am  so  honored,  you  talk  to  me  about 
issuing  rations  by  weight.  I  am  astonished  at  you.  You  are 
advanced  in  years  ;  I  am  also  advanced  in  years. 

White  Bear  : — I  wonder  if  you  knowr  that  I  planted  a  field  out 
here.  I  raised  pumpkins  as  large  as  this  chair  and  corn  taller 
than  I  am,  and  after  I  had  done  that  my  father  took  my  field 
away  to  plant  oats  in.  I  wonder  if  you  know  that.  Tell  the 
Great  Father  that  there  is  only  one  store  here,  and  all  the  young 
men  are  shedding  tears  about  it.  If  they  had  mowing-machines, 
such  as  they  could  ride  upon,  to  ride  around  their  countiy  and 
cut  hay,  they  would  be  able  to  earn  something ;  but  the  agent 
considers  that  the  country  belongs  to  him  personally,  and  cuts 
all  the  hay.  My  friends,  I  would  like  to  have  our  agent,  before 
the  sun  goes  down,  climb  up  into  the  second  story  of  the  ware- 
house and  take  down  all  the  teepee  cloths  and  blankets  that  he 
has  there,  and  divide  them  among  the  people. 

Dog  Back  : — I  am  not  anybody  in  particular.  Although  I  am 
not  very  strong  and  a  man  of  no  special  importance,  I  took  a 
claim,  and  planted,  and  considered  that  I  was  watching  my  own 
hay  and  grass.  I  am  the  man  that  has  been  trying  to  live  in  the 
way  that  I  have  been  told,  but  this  summer  a  great  man}*  white 
men  have  come  there  and  cut  my  wood,  and  killed  the  fowls  and 
animals  I  have  raised,  and  disturbed  me  in  many  ways.  I  do  not 
wish  to  make  any  disturbance  about  it,  but  I  have  been  trying  to 
do  as  the  Great  Father  advised  us,  and  it  seems  to  me  that  these 
people  who  come  and  do  such  things  to  me  are  lawless  people. 
I  have  nobody  to  help  me,  but  you  come  here  to-day  from  the 
Great  Father,  and  I  have  told  you  these  things  in  the  hope  that 
you  will  help  me. 

Santee  Agency.  Hakewaste  : — I  am  an  Indian  and  was  born 
naked.  I  now  wear  the  same  kind  of  clothes  as  the  white  man. 
Old  Wabashaw  told  me  that  the  President  wanted  us  to  work, 


156  A    BLIND    MAN'S    LAMENT. 

and  for  that  reason  I  have  dressed  in  this  way,  but  what  you  have 
been  explaining  to  me  I  know  nothing  about.  I  have  only  been 
six  years  a  chief  in  this  land.  You  can  see  how  we  are  situated 
here  ;  that  we  have  done  part  of  what  the  President  told  us  to  do  ; 
you  see  little  patches  of  corn,  &c.  As  old  man  Wabashaw  is 
buried  here  we  would  all  like  to  live  here.  We  will  all  do  what 
you  ask  of  us  in  the  treaty.  We  own  nothing,  and  have  nothing 
to  depend  upon.  When  the  President  makes  up  his  mind  to  do 
a  thing  he  generally  does  it,  but  we  do  not  want  to  go  to  that 
territory  to  the  south. 

Wamamsa  : — The  Lord  above  rules  everything,  and  he  has 
given  us  a  nice  mild  day  for  our  council.  We  have  prayed  for 
land  and  churches,  and  as  we  now  have  three  churches  I  think 
the  Lord  has  taken  good  care  of  us  and  has  answered  our  prayers. 
Look  at  these  young  men.  You  have  not  seen  an}'  Indians 
during  your  travels  dressed  in  that  way.  We  are  not  getting 
along  very  well — not  as  well  as  we  should.  Twice  now  we  have 
had  Quakers  for  agents,  and  we  are  going  down  hill  all  the  time ; 
getting  into  the  ground. 

Husasa  : — I  have  been  blind  for  four  years,  but  I  can  hear 
what  is  said.  When  any  one  comes  from  Washington  to  see  us 
we  ought  to  be  thankful  to  him.  When  we  lived  at  Redwood  we 
made  the  treaty,  and  it  was  mentioned  that  we  were  to  draw 
annuities  and  money  for  fifty  years,  and  for  that  reason  we  put 
ourselves  in  the  wrong  place  and  suffer  for  it  to-day.  There  are 
only  three  chiefs  left  now,  and  all  we  have  to  do  is  to  throw  our- 
selves into  the  arms  of  the  Great  Father.  We  are  all  pretty 
badly  off.  When  people  used  to  come  here  from  Washington, 
Wabashaw  was  here  to  speak,  but  now  he  is  lying  in  the  ground 
and  we  are  all  the  time  looking  that  way  at  him.  A  great  many 
of  us  have  no  wagons  or  oxen  or  anything  to  work  with.  I  have 
nothing  but  an  old  wagon  that  is  not  fit  for  use,  and  am  as  poor 
as  if  I  had  not  sold  any  land  to  the  President.  The  Indians' 
minds  are  not  very  long  and  we  forget  a  thing  in  a  very  short 
time.  You  have  told  us  what  to  do.  We  have  got  it  all  in  our 
ears  and  onght  to  be  proud  of  it. 

The  President  said  that  he  would  take  good  care  of  us,  and 
now  here  I  am  blind  and  have  not  got  a  wagon  fit  to  use. 
Although  I  am  blind,  if  I  had  a  wagon  the  women  or  some  of 
the  boys  could  bring  me  water  when  I  am  thirsty. 


'6 


